Focused by Noelle Pikus-Pace

Focused

By: Noelle Pikus Pace

Review by B., age almost 13

A few weeks ago, my mom told me that I could do a book review. She gave me a few different options but immediately, when I heard “Noelle Pikus Pace,” instantly I said yes. Right from the beginning I knew I was going to like it. It had colored, bright pictures with many amazing quotes.  

One of my favorite chapters was chapter 6, “A model of perfection.” This chapter was about a photo shoot she was invited to go to with only about 5 other Olympians. They gave her a size four when she was a size 10. She perfectly explained how much girls struggle, and she said that that was hard for her as well. Noelle said that we need to be so strong in knowing who we are as daughters of God so that these simple but harmful things in our lives do not get in the way. One of my favorite quotes she said was, “Be fearless and love yourself for who you are.”

Honestly, out of all the books I have read, this one was best written. Noelle was able to give such good advice in the funniest ways.  

A few of the bloggers and myself that read this book were able to meet her. She is just as spirited as she is, if not more in person. She looked you right in the eye and you knew that she wasn’t lying. She is so humble and so honest--I am so grateful for that opportunity. [Momma Editor's note: We all got to look at her silver medal. Here's my daughter holding it:

Two things that stood out to me when we interviewed her was her love for the youth. I think this was written for the youth to be a stronger generation. And she shared something she said that I really liked, “[You have to take] two steps into the dark to see the light.”

Some fun facts about her that I learned were:

• Graduated from Mountain View high school

• Her mom is her hero
• Noelle’s favorite holiday is Halloween
• She is going to be a pirate this year
• She put Milka chocolate in her sled to have the right weight of her sled
• Noelle played softball- she loves to pitch and shortstop
• She won her sixth grade spelling bee
• Noelle loves to bake
• She finished writing Focused in less than two months
• She ran track in high school
• She has a degree in communal health and an MBA
• Noelle owns a hat shop called “Snowfire”