GOLD
ISBN: 978-1-4516-7272-5
Chris Cleave
Simon & Schuster
Fiction
July 2012

Kate and Zoe are best friends. The two have been track cyclists since the age of 19. Now at 32, both of them are competing for gold again. 2012 will be their last chance to compete.

Zoe has the determination and drive to win, but Kate has the talent. However, it is Zoe  who has won the gold medals in the past. She is currently at the height of her career. Unfortunately, she is making unwise choices which threaten to take away everything she has worked so hard to gain.

Kate is married to Jack, another Olympic gold medalist. They are the parents of Sophie, eight years old, who has a fight of her own. Sophie is currently battling her second bout of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Kate has never won a gold medal.  So, this year is especially tough. She is acutely feeling the pressure of competition and the stress of her daughter's illness. Her lifelong dream of Olympic gold may become just that: a dream.

Mr. Cleave, the author of the best-selling book, "Little Bee," has written a suspenseful, plot-twisting novel which again will engage his readers to the very end!

Reviewed by Charlene McConnell

Rating: 4