The Alex Awards are given to ten books every year for the best books published for adults of interest to teens. I placed holds on the ones that our library had in eaudiobook form, and this was one.

This book is the story of a fictional Olympic ice dancing pair whose story is full of scandal as well as pathos. This book is set up to be a documentary of their real story, produced ten years after their final appearance skating together.

As a mock documentary, this was perfect for audiobook. They did use a full cast, so it feels like the actual people - friends, rivals, and officials who knew the pair - commenting on the big events in their lives.

Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha met when they were children in a small town north of Chicago. When Kat was 9 years old and had just lost her mother, she saw Sheila Lin win gold in the Olympic games as an ice dancer. Kat wanted nothing more than to be just like her. Then Heath Rocha, an orphan in foster care, came along and learned to skate so he could be her partner. They operated on a shoestring budget until they were 16 years old and got the attention of none other than Sheila Lin - and got to train with her one summer in her academy in Los Angeles.

And so their notorious career began. They were recruited to stay on in order to push Sheila's children to greater heights, the twins Bella and Garret Lin.

This book reads like a gossip magazine. Kat and Heath were obsessed with one another - but not necessarily good for each other. Their relationship, as well as their ice dancing, has many ups and downs as the book goes on.

I've never actually been a fan of gossip magazines, and the book felt long (I'm spoiled by reading a lot of children's books.) - but I still never seriously considered quitting listening. It did have me hooked. Since I started reading it right after the Winter Olympics, it felt timely. (Though I found myself wishing I'd started it before - I would have paid more attention to ice dancing.)

There's plenty of drama here. Love and obsession. The question of which is more important: people or gold medals? Manipulators out for their own purposes. But by the end, we do see growth and even some wisdom in the characters. I did like reading this after hearing Alysa Liu talking about skating for the love of the art. I think Kat and Heath got there by the end. And the journey is quite a ride.