Siberian winters, grueling gymnastic routines, Gulag camps, and losses — the strong women in Winterland deal with these and more. I adored sweet and determined 8-year-old Anya as she is chosen to train for a chance to represent her homeland. With nods to actual gymnasts in the 70’s USSR program, Rae Meadows had me captivated from page one! I enjoyed this fictional story entwined with historical details of that timeframe behind the Iron Curtain.
— Lori
“Rae Meadows’ Winterland is more than a story of women, and more than an expose of the abuse young gymnasts endure. It is a moving portrait of an authoritarian country and how hard it is to know when or how to stand up to what we know is wrong.”
— Sarah Bagby, Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, KS