JANUARY 2023 - AudioFile
Author/narrator Nathan Chen is the first Asian American to win an Olympic Gold medal in figure skating, which he did at the 2022 Games in Beijing. In a delightful foreword Eunice Wong explains how Vera Wang came to design his costumes. Chen’s own delivery is fast and filled with scenes of his childhood and the sacrifices his mother made to secure lessons and coaches for him. His voice holds no complaint as he describes his many hours of practice and his loss in the 2018 Games. But listeners will hear his determination and courage when he describes his realization that he needed to revamp his thinking, his practices, and even his music to get to the top—and he did just that. A great listen. E.E.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
10/17/2022
The world of figure skating dazzles in this restrained debut from Olympic gold medalist Chen. Raised in Salt Lake City in the late 1990s as the youngest son of Chinese immigrants, Chen developed a love of skating early, and, to help nurture his talent, his mother moved to California with 12-year-old Chen so that he could train with a prestigious coach. A few years after he started skating, Chen began winning trophies at local events, and at 10 years old he won his first novice championship in 2010. But the path to becoming a world-class athlete had its difficulties. He suffered the occasional injury—he had a hip avulsion fracture after the 2017 World Championships and needed surgery—but Chen’s determination matched his advancing skills: “Things were getting harder, but everything I had already put into skating would be wasted if I quit.” In 2022, he won gold at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Chen’s fierce appreciation of his mother shines (“Without her, I wouldn’t have been disciplined enough to push myself when every part of me wanted to stop”), but he doesn’t examine his life off the ice, which keeps Chen at a distance from readers. Still, skating fans will relish Chen’s behind-the-scenes knowledge. Agent: Sheryl Shade, Shade Global. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
Shattering records and pushing the sport further than ever before, Nathan is a legend and icon in the figure skating world. — Serena Williams
Watching Nathan Chen develop from a young, determined skater to a gold-medal–winning Olympian has been a gift. I have no doubt that the Quad King’s influence on the sport will impact generations to come. — Michelle Kwan
The terms Olympic gold medalist and world champion only begin to describe Nathan Chen. He is as impressive, intelligent, and inspirational as any athlete you will come across. We are lucky that after sharing his skating genius with us, he is now sharing his story. — Mike Tirico, Host of NBC Olympics Primetime
Blending history-making gold medals and cultural commitment to multicultural communities is all-too-rare: it’s something young generations have come to expect, something that Nathan has always embodied, and something that continues to inspire all of us. — Bing Chen, CEO and Cofounder of Gold House
JANUARY 2023 - AudioFile
Author/narrator Nathan Chen is the first Asian American to win an Olympic Gold medal in figure skating, which he did at the 2022 Games in Beijing. In a delightful foreword Eunice Wong explains how Vera Wang came to design his costumes. Chen’s own delivery is fast and filled with scenes of his childhood and the sacrifices his mother made to secure lessons and coaches for him. His voice holds no complaint as he describes his many hours of practice and his loss in the 2018 Games. But listeners will hear his determination and courage when he describes his realization that he needed to revamp his thinking, his practices, and even his music to get to the top—and he did just that. A great listen. E.E.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2022-09-23
Chen chronicles what it took to become the first Asian American male figure skater to win a gold medal at the Olympics.
The youngest child (of five) raised by Chinese immigrants in Salt Lake City, Chen “took [his] first steps on the ice” when he was just 3. Noticing how much he loved it, his mother took him to free skating time at a local rink and enrolled him in figure skating classes. Before long, Chen was skating competitively and thriving. In 2010, he overcame a knee injury to win the novice national championship. He eventually attracted the attention of Armenian coach Rafael Arutunian, who helped Chen build the skills he needed to execute the complicated quadruple jumps that led to his nickname, the Quad King. In the years that followed, Chen’s career was a roller coaster of mental and physical challenges, ranging from a hip injury that set his training back before major competitions to intense anxiety about competing during the pandemic and the strain his mother’s coaching put on their relationship. Ultimately, Chen was able to win an Olympic gold medal in 2022 not only because of his training, but because of the steps he took to attend to his mental health, including sessions with a sports psychologist, developing hobbies outside of skating, and going to college at Yale. The book is strongest in Chen’s moments of vulnerability, when he speaks frankly about his love of his family and appreciation for the sacrifices they made for his career, his complex relationship with his mother, and his struggles with mental health. However, the prose is adequate but unexceptional, and much of the text focuses on the technical aspects of skating, making it read more like a list of practice techniques than a cohesive story.
An overly detailed yet inspiring story of dedication and perseverance.
