Steriods - Pumped up and Dangerous

I decided to read Steroids - Pumped up and Dangerous. It was written by Ida Walker and it was copyrighted in 2008 by Mason Crest Publishers. This book is a non fiction book about the science of steriods. The book uncovers the truth that these steriods can have life long effects on the body. It also includes how the steriods effect athletic performace. The theme was is it's not worth risking your life by the steriods to increase athletic performance or appearence. 

The story is told by dividing up the different steroids and talking individually about their effects on the body and by telling stories of people who have used them. Many athletes wanting to increase their athletic performance use steriods. Steriods can increase muscle mass, lessen fat, and help your body recover quicker. The intended audience is middle school aged kids. The book provides information about the steroid without using medical vocabulary that is hard to understand. The genre is non fiction. The book fits into non fiction by providing factual information about these dangerous drugs. The author kept me interested by stating the reasons people use these steroids and how they impact athletic performance. The authors style is telling the main facts of the drug then writing bullet points of smaller facts.

By reading this book it made me wonder why people take steroids. It doesn't sound like the benefits are that great compared to the negatives. I never thought of potentially taking steroids in the future, but after reading this book I was a bit grossed out by these drugs. Just thinking of the possibly life long effects makes me sick. It's not worth risking your life. In sports taking performance enhancing drugs is against the rules. Players who test positive receive suspensions and sometimes even get fined. I think if I were to be a collegiate or professional athlete it would be hard for me to cheat like that. I would want to accomplish greatness on my own. I would want to see how good I was through nothing but hard work and dedication. This book made me remember the article about Lance Armstrong using steroids and winning all these races while doping. He also lied to a bunch of people about not doping when he really did.

I really liked how the author organized the book. It flowed along nicely. I would recommend this book to teenagers into athletics.

Ben Kurio
11/4
Rating: *** 3/5