Rollergirl by Victoria Jamieson

Rollergirl by Victoria Jamieson was a wonderful story wrapped up in a delightful package. I seriously cannot say enough good things about this beautiful book. When reading this book, I made sure to Facebook Message a friend to ask if her young daughters knew about Rollergirl. She said she didn't think that they did. I felt like a winner because I recommended this wonderful book to her.

photo credit: DSC_3615 via photopin (license)

In Rollergirl, we meet 12-year-old Asterid and her best friend Nicole. Asterid's mom, Ms. Vazquez enjoys taking the girls to what Astrid describes as ECE's, Evenings of Cultural Enlightenment. As part of an ECE, Ms. Vazquez takes the girls to an evening of Roller Derby. Astrid is hooked and wants nothing more than to join in this awesome sport. In the program for the Roller Derby bout is an ad for the Junior Roller Derby Camp for young ladies ages 12 to 17. Astrid immediately begs her mother to sign her up for this camp. She also begins daydreaming about participating in this camp with Nicole, who obviously had just as great a time as she did at the Roller Derby. Or did she? Nicole thought that Roller Derby was okay, but not nearly enough fun to forgo ballet camp (where she will be able to go en pointe for the first time). Astrid finds out that Nicole is going to ballet camp with her nemesis, Rachel. Rachel is the queen of the mean girls, she had even said that Astrid (or Ass Turd as Rachel likes to call her) had rabies after she touched a dead squirrel when they were younger.

Astrid signs up for the Junior Roller Derby Camp and has a great time getting to meet other young ladies who like-mindedly admire roller derby. Astrid struggled with learning the rules and ropes of roller derby. Along the way she meets some new friends and also gets to interact with her heroine Rainbow Bite. At the culmination of camp, the Junior Roller Derby girls are allowed to participate in a bout during the intermission of the Rosebud's Roller Derby Match. Astrid is a crucial part of the intermission bout. I would encourage you to read all about Astrid's love of roller derby. Rollergirl is a wonderful book that I believe younger readers should embrace with open arms.

photo credit: DSC_3751 via photopin (license)

What I Loved:

Astrid was an incredibly strong character. She learned a great number of new things both in terms of the technical side of roller derby and also about herself over the course of Junior Roller Derby Camp.

Astrid's mother was an incredibly sympathetic and strong character. She is a librarian (only my ultimate goal in life) who appears to be a single mother. Ms. Vazquez cares for Astrid and encourages her creativity. She also encourages Astrid to be open and honest with her emotions rather than keeping them bottled up.

Learning about Roller Derby. I admit that I have always, always, always wanted to participate with my local Roller Derby group the Classic City Rollergirls, but my hubby and mother have put the kibosh on this idea because of my terrible clumsiness. It's bad like I can fall up stairs bad. My hubby says that he is not going to support a sport where I can break myself in two (I think this is a bit overly dramatic). I went skating a few years ago, to reminisce about the good old days when I was very young (my daycare used to take us skating when I was younger than 8...so about twenty-something years ago) and I used to be able to zip around like I owned the skating rink. Well, let me tell you, that was not the case a few years ago...I could not even make it off the carpet, and I was sooooooooooooooooooo heartbroken :(. (Like Ugly Cry Heartbroken).

I loved the way that Jamieson highlighted her creative process in a free PDF booklet. Writing a graphic novel is much more involved than I would have ever thought. Meanwhile, the end result is gorgeous. I also appreciate how that Jamieson used real life characters (and also provided interviews with real life Junior Roller Girls into this booklet).

Roller Derby Connections and Resources


I chose to create a Pinterest board after reading this book. I was and have always been interested in Roller Derby, so I know that I will continue to add to this board.

Suggested reading and viewing:

Lila Felix's Love and Skate series of New Adult Romances for older teens.

Whip It Starring Elen Page and Drew Barrymore for older teens as well.

Final Thoughts

This was the first book I have read by Ms. Jamieson. It will not be the last. I think that this would engage readers as it is very exciting and a quick read. I would encourage everyone to seek this novel out.