A high stakes sports romance following an elite gymnast caught between her head, her heart and the competition of a lifetime. For fans of Icebreaker, Spiral and Lynn Painter!A year ago, Audrey Lee was recovering from spine surgery; now she's made the U.S. gymnastics team. But just as she is off to the most important competition of her life, horrifying news rips through the team, threatening to tear them apart. Audrey is intent on advocating for her teammate who has been hurt by the person they trusted most—but not all the gymnasts are on her side.
The one bright spot is the sweet and charming Leo Adams, who also happens to be the one person she can’t get close to until after the games. But the magnetic pull between them is impossible to ignore, especially when team dynamics and high expectations throw her deeper into his orbit. With incredible stakes at every turn, will Audrey’s determination send her tumbling towards her podium dreams or into Leo’s arms?
Jennifer Iacopelli was born in New York and has no plans to leave, ever. Growing up, she read everything she could get her hands on, but her favorite authors were L.M. Montgomery and Frances Hodgson Burnett, both of whom wrote about kick-butt girls before it was cool for girls to be kick-butt. As a high school librarian, she frolics all day with her students, books, and computers and writes at night while cheering on her beloved Yankees. Follow her @jennifercarolyn.
2021-2022 South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominee
“An uplifting quest for Olympic victory.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Readers will enjoy both the serious and sensitive discussion around sexual assault, as well as the story's more lighthearted topics of crushes, team dynamics, and the mechanics of gymnastics.”
—Booklist
“A fraught behind-the-scenes look at the lives of young Olympic hopefuls. Particularly compelling is the international female gymnasts’ demonstration of unity against sexual harassment, a show of empowerment in every arena.”
—Publishers Weekly“You will feel every tense bead of sweat, every nagging injury, every surge of adrenaline in Jennifer Iacopelli's superb gymnastics novel
Break the Fall. You will also feel the tingle of first love, the heartbreak of innocence lost, and the overwhelming joy that comes from diving into your dream, head first, and giving it all you have got. Most of all you will fall in love with honest, brave Audrey Lee and her super-shero squad—Emma, Dani, and Chelsea, and wish they were yours too. This book makes you understand exactly what it is like to compete as a woman at the highest level in sport, and it is exhilarating and satisfying indeed.”
—Holly Sorensen, Television Creator/Showrunner, Make it or Break It, Step Up “With an insider’s eye, Jennifer Iacopelli pulls back the curtain on the world’s most talented athletes, whose hard work and incredible skills are often overlooked because of their unique ability to make the impossible look so easy. The result is sporty, soapy, and addictive.”
—Sarah Henning, author of Throw Like a Girl and the Sea Witch duology
“
Break the Fall is the YA gymnastics novel of my dreams, and the very human drama at the center grabbed me as Audrey Lee learns what it means to be a friend and how to stand up for what's right. I couldn't put it down!”
—Alicia Thompson, author of Psych Major Syndrome and co-author of the Go-for-Gold Gymnasts series
“I flew through this book. I was rooting for Audrey and the rest of Team USA the whole time—for their health, for their friendship, and of course for their gymnastics. Reading
Break the Fall is the closest I’ve ever come to the thrill of competing at the Olympics—and I didn’t even have to do a single push-up to get here.”
—Leila Sales, author of This Song Will Save Your Life
“A fast-paced drama packed with big emotional stakes.”
—Jenn Bennett, author of Alex, Approximately
