Roller Girl

I loved this middle grade graphic novel. The story revolves around Astrid's new-found love for roller derby and her desire to go to roller derby camp over the summer. There's a lot here about working hard and committing to something to get to your goals, a lot about female role models and the importance of sports--and all of that is really great. But at heart this is a story about friendship--about how friendships change as we grow from children into teenagers, about how friendships change shape in those years, and about how friendships, especially as we get older, take effort. I thought Jamieson's handling of this subject was spot-on, tender and real without ever being preachy or lesson-y. Recommended.

I requested this Newbery Honor book after watching the ALA Youth Media Awards and I'm so glad I did. It reminded me of El Deafo by Cece Bell (though probably only because I haven't read very many children's graphic novels) and the movie Whip It (because of roller derby). In Roller Girl, Astrid signs up for roller derby summer camp, but her best friend Nicole signs up for dance camp instead, leaving Astrid alone (and making friends with Astrid's enemy, Rachel). Astrid navigates the transition from childhood to teenagerhood largely by herself: she makes a new friend, works hard for what she wants (and improves, but not magically or unrealistically), lies to her mother, and buys and eats a lot of junk food. This story is note-perfect, show more capturing the fierce fun that is roller derby, the blended simplicity and complexity of childhood and teenagerhood, and relationships between kids and parents. So much fun, and a great choice for those heading into middle school/junior high.

Quotes

Parents always say "Go get some fresh air," like getting kicked out of the house is a real treat. (45)

"How do you just stop being friends with somebody?" What's weird is...this was the same exact question I'd been asking myself for the past few weeks. Maybe it's one of those great mysteries of the universe. (Nicole to Rachel, Astrid, 140)

Some of the longest moments of my life have been spent in my room, waiting for my mom to come in and yell at me. (177)

"I just...I feel like I don't know who you are anymore." "Well...maybe I don't know who I am either!" (Astrid's mom and Astrid, 178) show less

Jamieson has a gift for telling the story of the tween years, of figuring out who you are and your place in the world... and acknowledging that relationships and you change as well. After Astrid becomes obsessed with roller derby, she convinces her mom to sign her up for derby camp, assuming her best friend would join her -- only she's going to dance camp instead. Cue the betrayal, the anger, the tweenage angst.

Astrid is not a completely likeable character. She's in fact a bit of a brat. Meaning, she's a normal tween girl. It was annoying at times, but I also appreciated that Jamieson was true to who her character was.

There still unfortunately aren’t that many books/movies with female athletes at the heart of them, certainly not in comparison to all the underdog male sports stories out there so that along with the sport itself, Roller Derby, made this a refreshing read.

This isn’t entirely sporty though if that isn’t your thing, the story beyond the roller rink is emotionally engaging, too. Astrid does some things behind her mother’s back over the course of the novel and I really liked how the fallout is handled, the conversation afterwards. The friendships were also so well conveyed, heartwarming and bittersweet, achingly true to life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this with its depth of story and lively, expressive illustrations.

Astrid and Nicole have been best friends (practically attached at the hip) since first grade. But the summer before they enter junior high school, Astrid is beyond thrilled to join the roller derby summer camp and is beyond disappointed when Nicole chooses to go to ballet summer camp instead. Astrid puts all her focus into becoming a jammer for her roller derby team, despite her many mixed feelings on her waning friendship with Nicole and her growing friendship with fellow roller derby member Zooey.

This book has been on my TBR pile for a while after a recommendation from a colleague as well as seeing the vast number of kids checking it out from the library. Now that Jamieson has a new book out, I decided it was finally time to read this show more one. There are a lot of great and interesting things about this book -- the author's clear passion for roller derby (exposing a sport to many youngsters who might be unfamiliar with it), the portrayal of the complex emotional life of middle schoolers as they move from the familiar environment of elementary school to junior high and grapple with their own identity as well as what it means to be a friend (a change for many perhaps from friendships based on mere proximity to those based on shared interests), and the diversity of the world around them. That latter is beyond just race and ethnicity (although Jamieson includes those depictions as well) to the wide variety of people that are out there. For instance, Nicole is more of a traditional "girly girl" while Astrid is not. Seeing from Astrid's eyes, it seems at first like the former is viewed negatively, but Astrid comes to learn that being a friend means accepting your friend's interests alongside your own. In addition, Astrid appears to live with a single mother and is of Latino descent, but neither of these are really an "issue" at stake -- the book is just about the everyday stuff, not bigger battles about race and motherhood. (That is not to say those books aren't important as well, but sometimes it's nice to have a book that is a bit lighter without being complete fluff.)

My only real quibble with the book is the mention more than once of Astrid being cruelly teased with the nickname "Ass-Turd." I'm not sure that's really language I'd want out there for 12 year olds, but realistically the children reading this book will be younger than the protagonist so I'd really rather not expose them to such language. However, at least it is made clear that this name-calling is hurtful to Astrid and not something to emulate.

Jamieson's illustrations are great, standing right at that line between realistic and cartoonish. They convey a lot of emotion, perfectly capturing Astrid's many feels, along with those of friends and family. This book reads quickly and could easily be read in one sitting, but Jamieson also helpfully includes chapter breaks so kids have any place to stop for a while if they have other demands. show less

I've seen several books promoted as read-alikes for Raina Telgemeier's Smile and sequels, but I've never found one that I would recommend as a read-alike - until now. Don't get me wrong, plenty of those other recommendations are great reads on their own, and fans of Telgemeier might be induced to try them. But I need something that desperate fans will grab in 30 seconds or less, as that's about how much time I have in the summer, with hordes of children demanding books now!

It all starts in 5th grade when Astrid's mom takes her and her best friend Nicole on a surprise visit to see...roller derby! Astrid is in love and immediately starts dreaming of being a roller derby star, just like her new hero Rainbow Bite. Of course, Nicole will show more come along too....but it turns out Nicole has other plans and roller derby isn't exactly how Astrid imagined it would be. Astrid's dreams start falling apart - and so does her friendship with Nicole. After some growing pains, there's a satisfying, if realistic, ending.

The artwork is colorful and realistic, with lots of expressive faces and a contemporary, digital feel. It will quickly remind fans of Telgemeier's distinctive work, but it stands well on its own. Jamieson's art has a finer line than Telgemeier's more blocky style and there's more distance in the panels, showing more of the setting and interaction between the characters. There are also sequences explaining roller derby that look hand-drawn and add a cute, friendly feel to the story.

Aside from the obvious interest if you have Telgemeier fans, this stands well on its own. It's a familiar story about grade school friends who are growing into different people and have new interests and ideas, but the roller derby adds a unique twist to the story. It seamlessly blends advice about sticking to something you love, even when the going is tough, along with growing and changing friendships.

Verdict: This will fly off the shelf with the cover alone, but combine that with "it's like Drama but with roller derby!" will make it a hot item (even if the kids aren't sure what roller derby is). I'm probably going to wish I'd bought more than one copy. Everyone else should buy copies too! Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780803740167; Published 2015 by Dial/Penguin; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library show less

from Laura:

Oh my gosh. It would be easy to call this sweet graphic novel a coming-of-age story but it's really so much more than that. 12-year-old Astrid has a difficult summer when she signs up for roller derby camp and her best friend, Nicole, opts for dance camp with a new friend. Dealing with her disappointment is complicated by frustrating and painful practices, but as her skills (slowly) improve, Astrid forms a tentative new friendship with fellow derby camper Zoey. When she and Zoey have a falling out, Astrid uses lessons from Nicole to patch things up. Several parts made me a little verklempt. Highly recommended for all ages but especially middle-school girls.

Other positives:
Fantastic role-model coaches
Supportive single mom
Being show more on a team
Sticking with goals show less