“Running doesn’t seem like a very ladylike business.” – Fast Girls

I started Fast Girls by Elise Hooper on the plane and promptly finished it on my first day of vacation.  Y’all know how much I love historical fiction books & any literature with strong female leads.  But this author is also always an auto buy for me. I loved her book “Learning To See” about an influential photographer during the Great Depression. Hooper has a way of making both the era and her characters come alive.

Based on a true story, Fast Girls is so encouraging and inspirational, I devoured it.  I love to run and the freedom and strength I feel when I’m out on the trails.  I really found myself connecting with the emotional side of this story as you realize how much these girls had to overcome.  Fast Girls is a multi POV book that follows the story of three incredibly diverse women competing in the first Olympic Games that would allow women to enter track & field events.  Betty, the injured favorite; Louise, the strong black girl; Helen, the awkward farmgirl. I love how the author shares their stories by interspersing newspaper articles, newsletters, and telegrams to gather a full narrative.  These women battled racism, sexism, and ageism to compete in a sport they love, all during the WWII Nazi sponsored Olympics in Berlin in 1928.

These three athletes work together to defy society’s expectations of what women can achieve. If you liked Hidden Figures or The Lost Girls of Paris, I think you’ll enjoy this book!  Thank you @tlcbooktours, @williammorrowbooks, and @elisehooper for sending me the book to read and review. 

To read more of Momma Leighellen’s Book reviews, go her Blog page!

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