Mikayla's Victory

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher-librarian in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.

Part of the Sports Stories series for reluctant readers, Mikayla’s
Victory showcases track and field’s pentathlon event. The prologue and
epilogue detail Mikayla’s Lamoureux’s record-setting achievements,
while the body of the novel flashes back to the previous year. In the 15
flashback chapters, 13-year-old Mikayla trains conscientiously,
especially for the high jump and the 800 metre, new events for her.

Mikayla’s self-doubts negatively affect her athletic performance. Her
personal problems include worrying about her Caribbean mother who
suffers from a degenerative heart condition that prevents her from
caring for Mikayla and her younger sister, Angelique. (The girls live
with different foster families.) In the end, Mikayla overcomes personal
adversities in her quest for athletic achievement.

Bates reveals her firsthand knowledge as a coach and physical education
teacher in her convincing descriptions of the sporting events, the
training, and sport’s psychology. Unfortunately, her prose tends to be
plodding and pedestrian. She relies on description to convey actions and
feelings that would be more effectively expressed through dialogue and
interaction. The overuse of long sentences and the passive voice is a
further drag on the story. Not a first-choice purchase.