depressing, chilling read - especially as someone who loves watching the Olympics, gymnastics & ice skating included. can't say any of it was a total revelation, but it was a sobering book. ( )

Confirmed what I had already suspected about the way young gymnasts and skaters are treated by their coaches and parents on their quest for glory. Written in an approachable manner, this book outlines both general and specific stories about the rampant emotional and physical abuse these girls go to. Although dated now, this book is still very much applicable, I suspect. My only problem with the book was the author's treatment of Tonya Harding who she clearly despised. She criticized Tonya for things like not going along along with the program in how skaters are supposed to act and dress and yet had been critical of the conformity that the sport demands. ( )

I wrote three separate blog posts reviewing this book:

Part I: Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, Injuries http://bettercompetitor.com/book-review-little-girls-in-pretty-boxes-injuries/
Part II: Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, Eating Disorders and Image http://bettercompetitor.com/book-review-little-girls-in-pretty-boxes-eating-diso...
Part III: Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, the second half http://bettercompetitor.com/book-review-little-girls-in-pretty-boxes-the-second-...

I love watching gymnastics and figure skating. This 1996 book about the pressures on these athletes seemed a bit dated, though it did come out after the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding incident. Apparently, few gymnasts or skaters, even at the most elite levels, really profit from the years of hard training, normal childhoods are impossible, and most come out physically or emotionally damaged. That still didn't stop me from enjoying Stars on Ice, which I recently saw in New Jersey. ( )