http://www.book-blog.com/2009/05/torg... ( )

http://rivkat.livejournal.com/223641.... ( )

I secretly love books about people's obsession with sports. The Blind Side; Friday Night Lights; Swimming to Alaska; and Fall River Dreams are some of my favorite books that fall into this category. So far I'm loving this one, too. ( )

Cheerleading has come a long way from what might now be called yell leaders. Todays cheerleaders are true athletes and this book helps give them some validation.
Each of the squads highlighted by the author are elite teams who compete at the top levels of their sport. It is interesting to get the fly's-view of what goes on behind the scenes for one of America's most iconic mascots--cheerleader! ( )

Wow! What a great read! Okay, I admit I did my share of crowd yelling and spirit fingers back in high school. But I think this is a great read for anyone wondering what those girls are thinking during the cheer championships on TV. The author (who skipped school during all the pep rallies in high school) follows three very different college squads. One coed squad is used to winning championships and they have the financial support to prove it. One black coed squad has no financial support, but wows other teams at camp. Finally, one all-girl squad is trying to win the love that coed squads receive. Through all these stories, Torgovnick uses great sports writing to suck us into the lives of these cheerleaders. I read half the book and looked up to see that it was 2 am. That's the sign of good storytelling! ( )