Joan Ryan is an award-winning journalist and the author of four books. Her groundbreaking book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes was named one of the Top 100 Sports Books of All Time by Sports Illustrated and one of the Top 50 Sports Books of All Time by the Guardian. Throughout her career, Ryan has been awarded thirteen Associated Press Sports Editors awards, the National Headliner Award, the Women's Sports Foundation's Journalism Award and the Fabulous Feminist Award from the San Francisco chapter of NOW. She is a founding trustee of Coaching Corps in Oakland, CA, and the Association of Women in Sports Media. Since 2008, she has been a media consultant with the San Francisco Giants.
This book will open the eyes of every girl and parent with dreams of the Olympics, and it will change forever the way America looks at two of its most beloved sports. --Billie Jean King Stunning and frightening. --John Feinstein, New York Times bestselling author of A Good Walk Spoiled and The First Major Scathing...profoundly important. --San Francisco Chronicle Confirms your worst suspicions about 15-year-old gymnasts in 10-year-old bodies and the terrible price they pay, regardless of success. --Phil Mushnick, New York Post One of Sports Illustrated's Top 100 Sports Books of All Time One of Guardian (UK)'s Top 50 Sports Books of All Time