''Roller Girl'' is a

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson, published by

Dial Books for Young Readers The Dial Press is a publishing house founded in 1923 by Lincoln MacVeagh. The Dial Press shared a building with ''The Dial'' and Scofield Thayer worked with both. The first imprint was issued in 1924. Authors included Elizabeth Bowen, W. R. Bur ...

in 2015. It is set in contemporary

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

and details how the hero, Astrid, becomes a

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...

skater. It was named a Newbery Honor book in 2016.

Plot

Astrid's mother takes her and her best friend, Nicole, on numerous "Evenings of Cultural Enrichment" which often confuse, bore, or inappropriately amuse the two girls; one night in fifth grade, they attend a roller derby match between the Oregon City Rollergirls and the

Rose City Rollers The Rose City Rollers is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Portland, Oregon, operating as a 501(c)3 Nonprofit organization, non-profit organization, and is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). Est ...

. Astrid asks her mother's permission to attend the Rollers' Junior Roller Derby Camp that summer, assuming that Nicole will also join with her. Instead, Nicole chooses to attend dance camp with Astrid's longtime rival Rachel. At camp, Astrid wonders if she can still be friends with Nicole; she later makes friends with Zoey, a fellow camp contender, but struggles with her skating skills. She and Zoe begin hanging out after derby practice, and Astrid lies to her mother about Nicole being in derby camp with her. Roller derby makes Astrid stronger and helps her to try new things, like dying her hair and standing up to Nicole and Rachel. Sometime later, at a clothing store, Astrid's mother sees Nicole and asks her about roller derby camp. To Astrid's surprise, Nicole fakes being in derby camp and plays along with Astrid's act. Eventually, Astrid's mother learns the truth after talking to Nicole's mother at a grocery store. She and her daughter have an honest conversation, and Astrid confesses that her actions were only because she simply did not know how to explain to her that her friendship with Nicole has changed. Afterward, Astrid goes to Nicole's house to apologize to her and her mother. Later on, she makes a truce with her and Rachel by giving them a ticket to her roller derby bout. At the bout, Astrid scores the winning point for her team, but injures her foot. Nicole gives her flowers and asks her out to dinner, which she politely rejects and instead chooses to stay with her team, ending their friendship on agreeable terms. The novel ends with Astrid having found her true self and moving on from her friendship with Nicole.

Development

Jamieson attended her first roller derby match in 2008 and began to be involved with the Rollers after moving to Portland with her husband in 2009, eventually joining under the

derby name A derby name, roller derby name or skater name is a nickname used by a skater while playing or officiating roller derby. Derby names can be seen as an opportunity to adopt an alternative on-track persona. Many derby names are puns, and in some ...

'Winnie the Pow'.

Reception

In 2016, the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

named ''Roller Girl'' to its list of Newbery Honor winners, alongside

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (born June 24, 1967) is an American children's and young adult book author. In 2016, her children's book '' The War That Saved My Life'' received the Newbery Honor Award and was named to the Bank Street Children's Book ...

's ''

The War That Saved My Life ''The War That Saved My Life'', by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, is a 2015 children’s historical novel published by Dial Books for Young Readers. In 2016, it was a Newbery Honor Book and was named to the Bank Street Children's Book Committee's ...

'' and

Pam Muñoz Ryan Pam Muñoz Ryan (born December 25, 1951) is an American writer for children and young adults, particularly in the multicultural genre. Biography Muñoz Ryan was born in Bakersfield, California. She is half Mexican with Basque, Italian, and Okla ...

's ''Echo''. It won the 2018 Young Hoosier Book Award (Intermediate) and was named to the 2016 Bank Street Children's Best Books of the Year List.

References

External links

* {{cite web , url=http://www.victoriajamieson.com/books/ , title=Books , author=Jamieson, Victoria , website=victoriajamieson.com , accessdate=16 March 2019 American graphic novels American young adult novels Newbery Honor–winning works Roller derby mass media