Roller Girl

Product Description The Newbery Honor Award Winner and New York Times bestseller Roller Girl is a heartwarming graphic novel about friendship and surviving junior high through the power of roller derby—perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier's Smile!  For most of her twelve years, Astrid has done everything with her best friend Nicole. But after Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for derby camp, Nicole decides to go to dance camp instead. And so begins the most difficult summer of Astrid's life as she struggles to keep up with the older girls at camp, hang on to the friend she feels slipping away, and cautiously embark on a new friendship. As the end of summer nears and her first roller derby bout (and junior high!) draws closer, Astrid realizes that maybe she is strong enough to handle the bout, a lost friendship, and middle school… in short, strong enough to be a roller girl. In this graphic novel debut that earned a Newbery Honor and five starred reviews, real-life derby girl Victoria Jamieson has created an inspiring coming-of-age story about friendship, perseverance, and girl power! From School Library Journal Gr 4–8—Twelve-year-old Astrid realizes that her interests are distinctly different from those of her best friend. Mesmerized while viewing a roller derby, she dreams of becoming a "Roller Girl" but discovers that the sport is considerably more daunting than she imagined and is not without physical, social, and emotional pain. Nevertheless, Astrid is determined to succeed. While this graphic novel provides interesting information about the sport, at its heart it is a story of friendship, exploring the tensions which test the girls' relationship as they move from childhood to adolescence. Astrid learns to be honest with herself, her mother, and her friends through a series of stressful events. The graphic novelist employs several excellent visual devices: angles to denote action and effective placement and space within panels. Jamieson's clever use of imagery is noteworthy. For example, desert and prehistoric depictions are used to suggest exaggerated perceptions of elapsed time. Her clothes shopping "hell" sequence is spot-on. Panels with stick figures are employed for comments, notes, and explanations. A prologue effectively frames the story and the realistic style with full-color art is reminiscent of the work of Raina Telgemeier. While at times some panels are a bit text-dense, the story will engage readers who will identify with Astrid as she deals with frustrations and disappointments. It will especially appeal to those whose aspirations fly in the face of convention. Offer this comic to fans of Telgemeier's Smile (Scholastic, 2010) and Laura Lee Gulledge's Page by Paige (Abrams, 2011).—Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY Review A Newbery Honor book2016-2017 Texas Bluebonnet Award winnerA New York Times Bestseller A Spring 2015 Indie Next Pick A New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of 2015 A New York Public Library Best Book for Reading and Sharing of 2015 A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2015 A School Library Journal Best Book of 2015 A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2015 A Top 10 Latin@ Book of 2015 A Parents Magazine Best Children's Book of 2015 A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2015 A Texas Bluebonnet Award 2016-2017 nominee A 2016 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers selection A 2016 YALSA Popular Paperback selectionAn ALA Notable Children's Book of 2016A 2015 Nerdy Book Club Award Winner for Best Graphic Novel “ Roller Girl's message of self-discovery, friendship, and perseverance will roll its way right into your heart.” —Raina Telgemeier, N ew York Times bestselling author of Sisters “This spiky, winning graphic novel captures the bittersweetness of finding a new passion and saying goodbye to your former, more uncertain self.” — New York Times Book Review * "Jamieson captures this snapshot of preteen angst