The Ultimate Guide to Cheerleading

Product Information

Then the unthinkable happens to someone in their circles, and it throws the coach and the girls into a tailspin. Addy finds herself front and center in the midst of a game of secrets, lies, and manipulations. She's a puppet trying to find out who's pulling her strings and why. I LOVED that aspect of it. The story unfolds like a whodunit mystery but at the same time a dark series of power struggles and sensual tension that builds with a swelling crest up until the "a-ha" moment comes about. I didn't know what route it would go until the last possible point, and it made sense as far as the lying and manipulations were concerned on behalf of multiple parties. It does make sense since they’re from a small town with low standards. But of course, everything changes when the new coach comes. Suddenly, everyone wants the top spot and they all want to win Regionals and State. Tense, dark, and beautifully written" (Gillian Flynn), this novel of friendship and betrayal from an Edgar Award-winning author is a harrowing glimpse into the dark heart of the all-American girl.

I’m going to be honest, that quote there is good. It’s amazing, actually. There are so many parts of the book (as far as I read it/listened to it) that could have been this good if they’d actually made sense. Take this quote for example: But apparently this cheer squad can’t even cheer. I’m not an athlete and I probably have no room to talk about this, but this group of cheerleaders can’t do a basket toss and can barely pull off a pyramid...which I kinda thought were standard cheer moves? One of the legal liabilities of any sport and certainly any sports injury lawsuit involves the failure to warn the participants in the activity of the dangers of their participation. There seems to be little doubt that cheerleaders, especially young cheerleaders, and their parents are not sufficiently aware of the dangers they are being exposed to by participation in the sport of cheerleading. While we are not in favor of the sometimes recommended scare tactic methods of warning athletes of dangers (don’t create self-fulfilling prophecy psychology), there is no doubt that cheerleaders would be safer if they understood that safety practices are never to be bypassed. This is NOT the Rah Rah cheerleading I remember from my high school, and DARE ME is NOT the YA reading I was doing in my teenage years. I am not a parent- if I was I would cringe a little if I saw this book on my teenager's night stand- but as an adult I loved it. It has been billed as Fight Club for girls...but it reminded me more of Heathers meets Bring It On. But the attention hasn’t all been positive. Aldama has been portrayed as a complicated figure: someone to whom the kids can turn for support – which many of them haven’t received elsewhere due to the circumstances of their upbringing – but also someone who rules the squad with an iron fist, encouraging cheerleaders to push through pain, at times to the point of collapse. Concerns were raised about the number of cheerleading-related injuries, including concussions and bruised ribs. Aldama was too tough, critics said, too heartless.

Behind the scenes though, there are bruises and punishing workouts… and the threat that hangs over them- the possibility of severe injury. More than three and a half million young athletes, female and male, participate in all-star cheerleading in North America. The Cheerleading Book is the go-to resource for anyone interested in participating in or coaching the sport of cheerleading. Now we are learning the pyramid isn't about girls climbing on top of one another and staying still. It's about breathing something to life. Together. Each of us a singular organ feeding the other organs, creating something larger. We are learning that our bodies are our own and they are the squads and that is all. We are learning that we are the only people in the world when we are on the floor. We will wear our smiles tight and meaningless, but inside, all we care for is stunt. Stunt is all." This novel gives readers a front row seat for an inside peek into what goes on behind that carefully crafted façade in the highly competitive world of cheerleading. Everyone's complex. It's hard not to make a serious connection to Lolita, from the cover of the novel to the layers and layers of personality within Addy and all the versions of Beth and Coach French to which we are treated.

The new coach, who happens to be married, is found in a compromising position with another man. When her new lover allegedly commits suicide, Abby finds herself pulled deeper into the Coach’s web as the police begin to question the cause of death. As damning evidence mounts, Abby begins to suspect several people in her inner circle of foul play…

Add to Collection

There are three levels of safety/injury in the sport of cheerleading in the two different cheerleading sports. Cheerleading ranks as the most dangerous women’s sport in all safety areas. The first level of safety involves catastrophic injury in which involves permanent paralysis or death. The second level of safety involves injuries for which the athlete must receive hospital care. The third level of safety involves injuries which require missing or altering an athlete’s practice or competition schedule. Are her arms...like really weirdly bent or something? Are they skinny? Are they smaller than my hands? Are they easily broken? I’m genuinely confused. What kind of arms are those?