I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This was an interesting biography about Aimee Booman the coach who trained Simone Biles, her life and what it was like to coach Simone.

I have followed gymnastics since the 1976 Olympics. I've followed Simone since she was about 14 or 15, and I became a Gymcastic (the podcast Steve Cooper helps run) fan in the lead up to the 2020 Olympics. All that to say, I wasn't sure how much Aimee Boorman could tell me that I didn't already know. I'm so glad I put that aside and read The Balance! I normally fall asleep reading around 11 or 11:30pm. The night I started The Balance, I had to force myself to put it down at 12:30 a.m. only b/c I knew I had to get up in the morning. It's so good.

Aimee does a great job drawing in the reader so he/she cares about her and her life outside the gym and being Simone's coach. She talks a lot about mental health (hers, her kids', Simone's, etc.). The ARC is mostly chronological from when Aimee started lessons around age 6 through 2021 Olympics. There is a note at the end that the final version will include the 2024 Olympics. One of my favorite stories was about Aimee taking an anatomy class and how she applied that to coaching.

There are a few inconsistencies and minor incorrect info that prevented me from giving it five stars, but if those are corrected in the final draft, I'll up my rating. Overall I very much enjoyed and highly recommend The Balance. It really is fantastic.

***Major trigger warning for those regarding the doctor who is in prison and everything surrounding his crimes. I recommend reading the book and just skipping that chapter entirely.***