Cheer!

When I got my room assignment for my dorm my freshman year of college, I was so excited. Imagine my surprise when I moved in and my roommate proceeded to cover her half of the room with cheerleading memorabilia from high school. I got to help her practice for a try-out with the spirit squad and deal with the reaction when she didn't make it. I only knew about cheerleading from Bring It On and was not exactly prepared for the *clap* "Ready, OK?!" that came out of her mouth in normal, everyday situations.

Amazingly, my experience was nothing compared to the extremely dedicated college cheerleaders that appear in Cheer!: Three Teams on a Quest for College Cheerleading's Ultimate Prize. Author Kate Torgovnick follows the Memphis All-Girl Tigers, the Stephen F. Austin University Lumberjacks and the Southern University Jaguars in this well-written and extremely informative book. After a very interesting history of cheerleading, Torgovnick introduces the three teams at try-outs and follows them through to various National competitions. The author is clearly passionate about her subject and that shines through in her writing. Although readers may have many stereotypes about cheerleading, Torgovnick shows that this is a sport worthy of our attention. The drama is real because the stakes are high for these dedicated athletes. I really enjoyed this book and was amazed at how fast I got sucked in to the stories of the men and women on these three teams. It's always exciting to find a subject fascinating when you never thought you'd even like it.