Roller Girl Background

Roller Girl Background

Roller Girl (2015) was penned by Victoria Jamieson and tells the story of a young girl named Astrid, whose mother often takes her to "Evenings of Cultural Enrichment." Bored with these events, Astrid tries to find another way to occupy her time. Eventually, she comes across a roller derby match between the Oregon City Rollergirls and the Rose City Rollers. She leaves the match fascinated with the sport and expresses an interest to her mother to start participating in roller derby events herself. However, Astrid's interest in roller derby causes her friends to pull away from her, upsetting Astrid. Ultimately, Astrid makes friends with a new girl at the roller derby camp she attends but still struggles with feelings of self-doubt and jealousy in her life.

In 2016, Roller Girl was a Newbery Honor book, signaling its popularity and quality. The novel likewise won several other prestigious awards, further cementing its status as one of the best books of 2015. Echoing these awards, Sarah Donaldson called the novel "perceptive," "sardonic," and "brilliant" in her review of the novel in The Guardian. Similarly, in their review of the novel, Kirkus Reviews said that the novel is "Full of charm and moxie—don’t let this one roll past."

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