Hooper’s latest novel (and my guess soon immediate best seller) dives into the lives of three talented and driven American female runners, Betty, Louis and Helen. The book is historical fiction, but the narrative is based on the members of the first integrated U.S. Olympic team, and their journey to the 1936 Olympics in Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Each woman had to work hard and struggle to stand out and be accepted in the heavily dominated world of men’s sports…Not to mention handling the constant sexism and racism.

The reader follows each woman’s powerful journey and growth in the world of track and field. All three women had to fight hard (in various ways) in order to even get to the Olympics. They endured, sacrificed quite a bit and persevered through many hardships. What they went through and accomplished truly helped shape the athletic world we women live in today. You will find yourself cheering and rooting for all three women from the beginning of the book and their individual storylines, and then as they come together as a group for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

I really cannot say enough wonderful things about this book and Hooper’s writing. This extraordinary novel was both fast paced and had me racing through the journey of these amazing female athletes. I fell in love Betty, Louis and Helen’s strength, gritty attitudes and team work. Furthermore, I was drawn into the story through their sacrifices and everything they endured in order to make their mark and success in a “man’s world.” I even found these strong women motivating me to continue the pursuit of my own dreams.

Hooper also kept the pace of the book flowing and meshed together by interspersing real news articles into the story along with a climate of suspense, twists and turns. Each character was brought to vivid life right before my eyes in each chapter, which kept me glued to each page.

You could tell Hooper’s research was thorough and extremely detailed. She didn’t keep to just the world of sexism in sports. Instead, she dove into the harsh realities during this time period for women and women of color. I had no idea a married woman could not teach high school unless it was a Home Economics class, and in the world of running, it was thought that a woman should not become athletic because it would damage her health. Seriously!?!

As a bonus, there is an afterward in the book that dives even more into Betty, Louis and Helen’s world and how they shaped not just their world but the future world. I’m so thankful that Hooper came forward with this amazing tale that really needed to be told. This is a slice of history I knew nothing about. I still cannot get over the extreme opposition to women competing in the Olympics. Also, I had no clue that Betty Robinson was the first female to compete in the Olympics for track and field, and I will forever be grateful to her for all she sacrificed and endured to make it possible for women in the U.S. to grow in the world of competitive athletic.

If you enjoyed reading Unbroken, Boys in the Boat, or even the movie A League of Their Own you will truly love and appreciate this novel. Also, this book would make for an engaging book club read, so pick this book up now!

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

There is a lot to like about this historical fiction novel Fast Girls by Elise Hooper. We have learned so much about the epic showdown in 1936 between Hitler's Nazi Germany Olympic team and our team: especially the great Jesse Owens. But it never occurred to me- what about the women? In fact, to my shame, I have never wondered much about early female Olympians and what they went through in order to become Olympians, I really enjoyed this part of the book. Hooper chooses a few women to profile from our great 1936 Olympic teams. But she doesn't just profile this Olympics. She begins with the women training for the 1928 Olympics. I guess I should've anticipated the prejudice and misogyny the women faced. but it still angered and outraged me. Married women, women who have had children, or even women who already raced in the 1928 Olympics and medaled were told "Oh you're too delicate" by the head of the IOC. A woman can give birth, but she's too delicate to run around a track? And then add in the racism against our Black athletes and you can see the Black women had to work even harder than their White counterparts. My main issue with the book is that the women never seemed like more than characters to me- I think maybe she profiled so many that I couldn't connect with any. Overall, it is a really interesting and important topic. But I never fully clicked with the characters themselves. However, I learned a lot about women racing and training in this era. If you love history, sports, or the Olympics- this might be a great read for you! 3.75 stars.

1936 Women's Olympic Track team historical fiction! This book was so interesting and well-researched, yet easy to read and so very enjoyable. I truly loved the characters and their journeys to the Olympics. The details made the story come to life. I found myself viscerally reacting to the action. It was great. I totally recommend it to readers of women's fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction lovers alike!

I truly enjoyed this historical account of the first women Olympic track and field athletes. The novel centers around three very different women and their background stories. The time period is pre WW II from the late 1920’s to 1936. Various social issues are addressed including views towards women’s roles, racism, homosexuality and of course the Anti semitism of Nazi Germany. Very inspiring and interesting read about three heroines previously unknown to me. These were courageous and determined young women who opened the door for future females in the previously male dominated world of sports. If I had any complaint, it would be that the story ended somewhat abruptly although there was an afterword detailing the main characters’ later years. This is really not so much a criticism as a disappointment in the story ending when I wanted to continue to learn more about these intriguing women.

Three fast girls.  Three very different pathways to the 1936 Berlin Olympics.  Three: the number of seconds between "get set" and blasting off the starting line into your future.  Three young women running, for all they are worth, for their lives.

Fast Girls is historical fiction that introduces us to real women who broke world records, achieved Olympic gold, rose above rampant racism, sexism, and the societal norms meant to keep them off the track... out of the running for their dreams... out of their place in history.

Betty Robinson.  Louise Stokes.  Helen Stephens.  Remember their names.  These fast girls will teach us much that goes far beyond 100 meters.  From them, we will gain the perspective and insight that becomes a kind of second wind, which is what you need when you hit the wall during a race, or in the midst of dealing with life's hard challenges.

Each fast girl had to rise above tremendous obstacles to become who she was destined to be.  Take Betty Robinson, for starters.  As the first American woman to achieve Olympic gold, at the very first Olympics that included female athletes (Amsterdam, 1928), it seemed the "Golden Girl" had it made.  Not long afterwards, Robinson was involved in a near-fatal plane crash that left her body wrecked beyond hope of any kind of recovery, or return to her former glory.  Everyone counted her out.  Everyone, that is, except Betty herself.  What she does with her brokenness is what will define her greatness.

Next up, Louise Stokes.  As a member of the first integrated Olympic team, Stokes, a black athlete, will face the kind of abuses no one deserves, or should ever experience.  Her treatment, how she copes with it, and where it leads, even to today's Black Lives Matter movement, is not just a lesson for the history books.  It is living history.  It matters as much right now as it did back in 1932.  

Which brings us to Helen Stephens.  Stephens, a misfit, unwanted by her father, mocked and bullied by her childhood peers, so different, so confused about her identity, so incredibly talented.  What will become of Helen?  Who will see her immense promise and provide a means for her to leave the bleak, hardscrabble existence of her youth?  


Fast Girls is about so much more than blazing speed.  Even though these women, at their peak, were the fastest women in the world, what mattered, and still matters, is what they did with their enormous capacity for turning tragedies into personal triumph.  Their disappointments and losses, perhaps even more than their triumphs, are what make for compelling reading.  

This is a book for the history buff, the athlete, the coach, the teacher, the enthusiastic spectator, the one who cares about the worthiness, and enormous value, of every single person who asks only to be allowed the opportunity to fly down that straightaway toward the achievement of a dream... toward the fulfillment of personal destiny.

Received this ARC from Net Galley and William Morrow In exchange for an honest review. I loved this book! I found every character to be developed enough that I invested in every single one of their lives. I found myself cheering for wins for all of them. This mixed my favorite genre, historical fiction, with sports. I never knew about the entry of women into the world of competing in track and field and found it fascinating. It really did make me sad though because of the fact that this year’s summer Olympics had to be postponed. Highly recommend to lovers of historical fiction and sports!

It’s been said that people must walk so that others can run. Three girls, Betty Robinson, Helen Stephens, and Louise Stokes, surmounted the odds to be Olympic runners in the 1936 Olympics, and far from walking, they gave it their absolute all to demonstrate their sprinting prowess in the 100-meter dash and relay.

A slow-build story that crafts their parallel journeys from the very first Olympics with women in 1928 to the charged 1936 Berlin Olympics, Elise Hooper reveals the idiosyncrasies of Olympic training against a backdrop of high school or college life and the heavy weight of the Great Depression. Between a dearth of knowledge in sports and history, I had no expectations of knowing who these women were. Nevertheless, each had distinctive and valuable stories to tell, necessary to the overarching narrative of women breaking the glass ceiling of elite track and field. Hooper humanizes their grapple with finances, family, politics, racial tensions, sexuality, and relationships as they relentlessly strove to the Olympics. My greatest critique is of the dialogue of each girl, which frequently felt stylistically indistinguishable from one another or heavily scripted. For much of the novel, I appreciated the unadorned descriptions, but I found myself emotionally detached from some intense and disturbing scenes.

Met with either blatant or underhanded skepticism, Betty, Helen, and Louise persevered past the naysayers, well-articulated by various newspaper clippings that interspersed the chapters. I know sexism was atrociously rampant in the Dark Ages before womens’ rights and feminism gained traction, but <i>Fast Girls</i> showed just how oppressive societal perceptions could be. Add in a dose of intersectionality with race, and don’t even think about it. Jesse Owens might have been a star, but Louise encountered every barrier of being both woman and black as the American Olympic Committee and coaches constantly undercut her opportunities to run.

In a solid look at both sexism and institutional discrimination, I was gratified to see these women overcome their personal struggles. Despite having explicit talent and athleticism, they were made out as underdogs by authority figures, so each triumph on their personal journeys felt all the more gratifying. They were unflinchingly optimistic, which perhaps veered inauthentic at times. Still, I don’t mind that occasional, heavy dose of inspiration, allayed by acknowledging that <i>Fast Girls</i> ultimately remains a loose fictional interpretation.

Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fast Girls was a compelling, interesting, fact filled historical fiction about the 1936 women’s Olympic team. This book covers three athletes and their roads to the 1936 Olympics. It’s rich in history and is an emotional tale, as each woman has many roadblocks along the way. I loved that this was a look at a White woman, a gay woman, and a Black woman. It captured how each woman deals with social expectations, overcoming incredible odds personally and professionally to be on the Olympic team. I was absorbed in this story and fully rooting for each athlete. I loved that this was mostly build up to the actual event so that we get the full picture of what these women had to overcome to get to the actual Olympics. I wish that this had contained more during their time at the Olympics, as this was under Nazi territory and had some very interesting run-ins with major players. Overall, this was an addicting read featuring strong female leads. It was inspirational and incredibly well written. My thanks to @williammorrowbooks for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

This was a wonderful book! Gave you a glimpse into the past that is unforgettable. The story of these women runners was beautifully written

I really enjoyed this book. I had not read or heard about these female athletes from the 1920s and 1930s. It was certainly a different time and the women were not thought of well by many. There were many incidents of sexism and racism. It was interesting to read about the, at times, unfair selections of the Olympic committee. The writing was very good and the book and subjects were well researched.
I highly recommend this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book. It is an interesting view of women athletes in the early 1900's and their struggle to achieve their goals. The characters are real athletes and they teach us to persevere in the face of obstacles. We, the readers, are reminded of the nasty way women were treated in the 1936 Olympics in Germany. We are proud of the way these women athletes and others overcome men's and societies" prejudices toward women runners. The author wrote so that the women and situations are relatable. Like running, Fast Girls is written using sprinting sentences that move the story along quickly. There are pauses of reflection and romance also.
I highly recommend Fast Girls. Thank you #NetGalley and #FastGirls for the eARC.

Fast Girls begins in 1928 and follows three remarkable female athletes in their journeys to compete in track and field events, in The Olympics. This novel combines fact and fiction as it tells the extraordinarily stories of Betty Robinson, Helen Stephens, and Louise Stokes’ quest to overcome adversity in their quest to win Olympic gold.

I loved learning the history of women’s entrance into the Olympic Games. This novel was meticulously researched and eloquently written. I appreciated the perspective of the Black female athletes and their courage and persistence to be recognized as human beings. I related to the sense of freedom running brings to the soul.

The book opens with Betty Robinson competing and winning a gold metal at the 1928 Olympics. Her daring and athleticism, inspires girls around the country to begin competing in track and field events. Louise Stokes, an African American girl, begins training and fighting to join future Olympic teams. In Missouri, Helen, a socially awkward girl, is ostracized by her schoolmates. With Betty as her example, she begins running and dreaming of a different life. This book outlines the Olympic journey's of these three athletes, as they compete to be the fastest woman in the world.

I really enjoyed this book. The women were interesting and dynamic characters. Their journeys, never easy, were inspiring and moving. I would love to read more from this author. Overall, well worth a gold medal!

loved reading about the process for women to be able to participate in the Olympics. I felt for all these women’s struggle and to see how much people forget how black women were really seen as less for everything. I thought that Hooper may not have captured the Black voice, I do NOT think she did it a disservice. I felt the pain, as a Black woman, that she was trying to convey. I loved the nods to Jesse Owens and Mack Robinson! And the afterwards was the best “epilogue” a girl could ask for!
Highly recommend

Fast Girls is a really interesting and captivating read book about 3 young women, Helen Stephens, Betty Robinson and Louise Stokes, who fought their way to be on the 1936 Olympic track team. The injustices that these women had to face! A well researched compelling historical (fiction) account of a time in history we should all know about.

When I received the ARC of Fast Girls, I was not sure that I would become interested in a book about 3 young women who were on the 1936 Olympic track team! I found the story about the 3 young women, Helen Stephens, Betty Robinson and Louise Stokes, compelling, fascinating and eye-opening. Before reading I knew absolutely nothing about women in the Olympics during the pre-WWII era. Although the book is lengthy, it was a fast read! Thank you NetGalley and Facebook's Book Club Girls Early Read Program for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion!

This story took me back to a time in History that has fascinated me for many years: Prohibition, the American Depression, A. Hitler's Germany. Fascinating yet dark and humanly difficult. Helen Stephens, Betty Robinson and Louise Stokes have to defy the odds and fight tooth and nail in order to make their dream come true: join the 1936's Women's Olympic track team.

This book was difficult to read because of its content; the injustice in many situations made me so mad at times. I felt like the protagonists has to apologize to society for being women, let alone being women of color. But I command their tenacity to pull through and not let men keep them down. I also loved Elise Hooper's writing style; emotional, gripping, romantic,.. so my type! The structure in the book was also pleasant with a particular nod to the articles describing the feats these extremely talented women had accomplished.

I totally recommend it.

Thank you Net Galley and William Morrow Paperbacks for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of Fast Girls by Elise Hooper, courtesy of NetGalley. Beginning with the 1928 first women's team to participate in the Olympics, the author traces the paths of Betty Robinson, Louise Stokes, and Helen Stephens as they overcome many challenges and become recognized for their athletic strengths. These inspiring young women become members of the first integrated women's Olympic delegation, participating in the 1936 games in Nazi Berlin. . I learned so much reading this well researched historical novel!

First, I should preface this. I am a runner. I’m “one of those” people who run for fun. I’m one of those that have been asked if running had made my legs “more manly”. I am not fast, but I do have endurance. A lot of my trail races are male saturated, so it’s always a “girl power” (queue Spice Girls with the peace sign) whenever I see a woman killing it. I related to this book in 2020 so much. I have heard of Betty Robinson (because of her 1st gold) and Helen Stephens (because of Hitler comments), but never knew of Louise Stokes. I am saddened it has taken me this long to know her

It has so neat to be transformed back to 1928- 1936. Some things today you gasp, other things were normal. Betty had her first cigarette on the boat. An Olympic runner.. smoking?

I absolutely loved how Hooper showed how many doubted the girls. However, once they hit the “big time” they acted as though they were backing them the entire time. It’s such a real thing that STILL happens, and it was great.

There’s a very important part in this book where Louise has a flashback to 1920. Her Uncle Freddie is at a ceremony to honor the veterans who fought in The Great War. Louise asks her Uncle if she knew some of the men who died. He responds yes and when she presses as to which ones, he says they are not on the plaque l. He begins to explain that their sacrifices are not counted the same as someone with white skin’s sacrifices. This was a conversation from 1920. Why in the world are still having this conversation literally 100 years later? We should be better than this America.

I connected with Louise so much and enjoyed her story the most. It’s heartbreaking to know she was snubbed at her chance of gold and she is not as well known as Helen or Betty. She has an amazing backstory and I’m glad she was highlighted in such a prominent book.

Thank you NetGalley,

TW: Rape

I loved hearing the stories of Betty, Louise, Helen, and the other runners in this novel. Getting to know these athletes as individuals and feel the tensions they experienced preparing for and at the 1936 Olympics was such a joy. Usually in a multiple perspective novel, I have a clear favorite but I loved each of the main perspectives and can’t pick a favorite!