Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

For Carli Lloyd, a 2015 World Cup winner, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and 2015 FIFA World Player of the Year, success didn't come easy. A standout player from an early age, she still at various times found herself cut, riding the bench, or fretting about her precarious position on the U.S. Women's National Team. If that's hard to reconcile with her audacious, three-goal performance in last year's World Cup final, Lloyd says in this memoir that she's at her best when she has something to prove and someone to prove it to. With the publication of star striker Abby Wambach's Forward just two weeks ago, fans of women's soccer have a unique opportunity to peer inside the minds of two of the game's most dominant players. Where Wambach focuses much more on her personal journey and relationships, Lloyd writes freely about the players and personalities she's encountered during her time on the national team. From coaches past and present (Greg Ryan was capricious and demanding; Pia Sundhage a betrayer; while Jill Ellis is almost a soulmate) to the players (she respects Wambach, but they aren't close, and she remains a loyal friend to the controversial Hope Solo), Lloyd covers in some detail the drama she claims she always wants to avoid. Lloyd portrays herself as a grinder, someone whose inability to play political games is counterbalanced by her ability to do the work. Saying fitness has never come naturally to her, she puts in a truly astounding amount of effort with James Galanis, her personal coach and trainer, working out even when others advise her to rest. Galanis, whose sway over his mentee is one factor in a lasting family rift, puts together a long-term plan in which Lloyd will become the best player in the world one that ultimately comes true. Some of the re-created dialogue is a bit wooden, and Lloyd includes a few too many motivational emails from Galanis, but this book is a remarkable portrait of the relentless drive and sacrifice required to truly be the best.--Graff, Keir Copyright 2016 Booklist