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!

Great story about largely unknown women who made a name for themselves by competing in the first track and field events for women at the Olympics. I enjoyed the events leading up and including the 1928 Olympics. The rest of the book kind of dragged for me. It shed a lot of light on what it was like to be female runner and especially a black, female runner. Any sports or Olympic enthusiast would enjoy this book

Fast Girls tells a story based on three real-life female sprinters, Betty Robinson, Helen Stephens, and Louise Stokes, who worked to become members of the 1936 Berlin Olympics female track and field team. These characters had to overcome numerous obstacles to achieve their goals, including sexism, racism, personal tragedy and abuse but refused to give up until they achieved their goals.

I am not a sports fan by any means and knew next to nothing about the Berlin Olympics track and field team, but this story was extremely riveting, and I found myself cheering on all of the characters as they worked to overcome the obstacles thrown up in their way. The author had clearly researched her subjects, and I loved the way that fact and fiction were weaved together. As a reader I got frustrated right along with the women as they experienced sexism and racism in its many forms and cheered all of the women on as they worked to subvert the societal views of a woman's place in order to achieve their Olympic dreams.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves historical fiction, even non-sports fans like me.

While I was very interested in reading this title from its description, once I began I couldn't stay focused on the story. I was drawn in the by the historical references, and I learned a lot about women athletes in the 1928 Olympics. But there wasn't enough excitement in the plot to keep me reading. Unfortunately, I only read up to Chapter 29.

I loved that Fast Girls introduced me to a subject that I literally knew nothing about. The author did a great job making me care about these pioneers in their sports. I love historical fiction, especially when it is a fresh idea. Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins and the BookClubGirls for this ARC.