Review: ‘As Fast as I Can’ by Penny Tangey
Synopsis: Ten-year-old Vivian is determined to compete at the Olympic Games one day. Problem is, she has’t found a sport she’s any good at yet. But everyone says if you work hard enough you can achieve anything, right? So when Vivian discovers she has a talent for cross country running, she’s excited her Olympic dream might come true. ‘
But then a family illness is uncovered and all of Vivian’s plans begin to unravel. Can she keep her hopes alive? Or will she be stopped in her tracks?
Thank you to Aus YA Bloggers and UQP Books for including me in the tour for this book.
This was a middle grade book that I would have loved when I was younger, for the mere fact that it has some focus on the Olympics (something what I was obsessed with when I was child). But reading the whole book I was struck by nostalgia for childhood, including school sports day and primary school friendships. This book isn‘t about the Olympics in itself, but instead portrays part of the journey in discovering who you are and how you overcome challenges put in your path, least of which is finding THE sport that you excel at, but more importantly health and family.
This book felt like a honest representation of childhood in Australia, but also true to the reactions you’d expect from someone that young. More so when considering that the character was prevented by circumstances beyond their control in seeking to achieve a dream. And I have to give a shout out to the way the author weaved in geographic locations of Victoria into the books, which really helped me visualise where this book was set.
An enjoyable middle grade book, it did a really great job of exploring the intersection between childhood goals, health barriers, family and friendship and the challenges of growing up.
ISBN: 978-0-7022-6281-4
RRP: $16.99
Publication Date: 31/03/2020
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
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