Roller Girl

Astrid goes to a roller derby game with her mom and best friend and loves it so much that she signs up for Juniors camp in the summer. The focus of the book is on the deterioration of Astrid's friendship with her best friend and on Astrid working hard to get better at roller derby and sort of

Show More

starting to find her way through the tough teen stuff. The derby part of the book gives an accurate portrayal of how hard one must work to participate and the gameplay seems fairly accurate, although they don't go into in major detail and I think if they did they would lose people (although it was clearly written before the bout/game changeover; we call them games now, not bouts.) The real draw to the story is the life stuff; her worries about her friendship with Nicole, her budding friendship with Zooey, and her feelings about herself. The artwork is fun, colorful and reflects the upbeat nature of the story.

Show Less

The characters are 12 and just about to head to middle school, so perfect for middle school girls dealing with changing friendships. Takes place in Portland, so it has local appeal. I also like that it shows girls doing a different sort of sport than many try. Strong girls in a tough girl sport -

Show More

with heart. A sweet story!

Show Less

The characters are 12 and just about to head to middle school, so perfect for middle school girls dealing with changing friendships. Takes place in Portland, so it has local appeal. I also like that it shows girls doing a different sort of sport than many try. Strong girls in a tough girl sport -

Show More

with heart. A sweet story!

Show Less

This awesome graphic novel is about a girl named Astrid who is getting ready to go to middle school. She has a best friend, but it turns out her friend has really different interests than she does and when her mom takes them to a roller derby match, Astrid has found a new interest, but her friend

Show More

does not. Roller derby doesn't come easily to Astrid (and some of her creative problem solving is not exactly safe or trustworthy behavior) but she perseveres and has a really great role model. Loved this one.

Show Less

Fantastic. Clean, accessible artwork with distinctive characters. Astrid and Nicole have been best friends forever, but when the summer between elementary school and middle school arrives, they find that their interests have diverged. Astrid attends roller derby camp while Nicole goes to ballet

Show More

camp, and the story of their transition is told from Astrid's point of view in the context of girls' roller derby. Unusual, fun, and really well written! Book club material for sure.

Show Less

This awesome graphic novel is about a girl named Astrid who is getting ready to go to middle school. She has a best friend, but it turns out her friend has really different interests than she does and when her mom takes them to a roller derby match, Astrid has found a new interest, but her friend

Show More

does not. Roller derby doesn't come easily to Astrid (and some of her creative problem solving is not exactly safe or trustworthy behavior) but she perseveres and has a really great role model. Loved this one.

Show Less

Fantastic. Clean, accessible artwork with distinctive characters. Astrid and Nicole have been best friends forever, but when the summer between elementary school and middle school arrives, they find that their interests have diverged. Astrid attends roller derby camp while Nicole goes to ballet

Show More

camp, and the story of their transition is told from Astrid's point of view in the context of girls' roller derby. Unusual, fun, and really well written! Book club material for sure.

Show Less

Astrid goes to a roller derby game with her mom and best friend and loves it so much that she signs up for Juniors camp in the summer. The focus of the book is on the deterioration of Astrid's friendship with her best friend and on Astrid working hard to get better at roller derby and sort of

Show More

starting to find her way through the tough teen stuff. The derby part of the book gives an accurate portrayal of how hard one must work to participate and the gameplay seems fairly accurate, although they don't go into in major detail and I think if they did they would lose people (although it was clearly written before the bout/game changeover; we call them games now, not bouts.) The real draw to the story is the life stuff; her worries about her friendship with Nicole, her budding friendship with Zooey, and her feelings about herself. The artwork is fun, colorful and reflects the upbeat nature of the story.

Show Less

Astrid goes to a roller derby game with her mom and best friend and loves it so much that she signs up for Juniors camp in the summer. The focus of the book is on the deterioration of Astrid's friendship with her best friend and on Astrid working hard to get better at roller derby and sort of

Show More

starting to find her way through the tough teen stuff. The derby part of the book gives an accurate portrayal of how hard one must work to participate and the gameplay seems fairly accurate, although they don't go into in major detail and I think if they did they would lose people (although it was clearly written before the bout/game changeover; we call them games now, not bouts.) The real draw to the story is the life stuff; her worries about her friendship with Nicole, her budding friendship with Zooey, and her feelings about herself. The artwork is fun, colorful and reflects the upbeat nature of the story.

Show Less

Astrid finds a new passion. Her mom is understanding, even when Astrid screws up. Fun to see inside Roller Derby. Astrid grows from a whiner to a tough, determined young person about to start middle school.

Astrid goes to a roller derby game with her mom and best friend and loves it so much that she signs up for Juniors camp in the summer. The focus of the book is on the deterioration of Astrid's friendship with her best friend and on Astrid working hard to get better at roller derby and sort of

Show More

starting to find her way through the tough teen stuff. The derby part of the book gives an accurate portrayal of how hard one must work to participate and the gameplay seems fairly accurate, although they don't go into in major detail and I think if they did they would lose people (although it was clearly written before the bout/game changeover; we call them games now, not bouts.) The real draw to the story is the life stuff; her worries about her friendship with Nicole, her budding friendship with Zooey, and her feelings about herself. The artwork is fun, colorful and reflects the upbeat nature of the story.

Show Less

It all starts when Astrid's mom takes Astrid and her best friend Nicole to the roller derby. Astrid immediately falls in love with the sport, but Nicole is less enthralled. When Astrid decides to sign up for a summer roller derby camp, Nicole declines, electing to attend dance camp instead with

Show More

Rachel, a girl Astrid has never gotten along with. Does this mean that Nicole and Astrid aren't friends any more? And what will become of Astrid's roller derby dreams when she encounters the rigors of training?

This Newbery Honor winner is a fun, fast read that will appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier's graphic novels. I enjoyed it, and I learned a lot about roller derby, as a bonus!

Show Less

I'm usually not drawn to graphic novels, but this 2016 Newbery Honor book worked well in this format.
It is a coming of age tale of two friends who were close since early childhood. Now that they approach teen aged years, there are changes, trials and tribulations.

In the story of Roller Girl, Astrid

Show More

is drawn to the sport of roller skating in a knock down/drag out type of competition in the rink. After watching this sport, she decides to go to summer camp to learn how to belong in this field. She assumes her good friend Nicole wants to join in, even though Nicole has not shown an interest.

Nicole decides to go to ballet camp, leaving Astrid to fend for herself. Angry at Nicole, Astrid is not able to objectively see that her wishes are not Nicole's commands.

Astrid finds a new friend at camp, while Nicole befriends someone in ballet camp. That someone happens to be somewhat of an elementary school class bully and is the enemy of Astrid.

Astrid's behavior, fueled by the brute force of roller skating in a competitive setting, is consuming and detrimental to open lines of communication.

In the end, Astrid finds a way to objectively examine her behavior, and she learns that it is possible to have more than one friend, and that controlling another person does not always lend to the desired result.

This was a three star read for me. It is good, not great.

Show Less

How fun is this book?!? Not only did I learn a few things about roller derby, but this is also a great story about the changing nature of girl friendships in the tween years and the pain and emotion involved when that happens. Astrid has rather mature perspectives on working through her problems

Show More

which I didn't quite accept as credulous for a 12-year-old. But otherwise this is a colorful story that will convey positive messages to its readership and just be a fun summer read.

Show Less

Reads like a novel! Great story and art ...

Roller Girl is a graphic middle-grade novel by Victoria Jamieson, which won a Newbery Honor for 2016. Astrid Vasquez does everything with her best friend, Nicole. Nicole seems interested in boys, while Astrid is not. One evening, Mrs. Vasquez takes the girls to the roller derby and Astrid is

Show More

hooked. She wants to sign up for roller derby camp for the summer, but Nicole would rather go to ballet camp with Rachel, who Astrid thinks is a bully. Astrid does not tell her mother that Nicole is not at roller derby camp, as Mrs. Vasquez thinks she is getting a ride home every day from Nicole’s family when she is walking home across a very busy highway. At camp, Astrid feels alone among the mostly older and more experienced girls, until she makes friends with Zoey. By the end, Astrid realizes that it is okay to be friends with more than one person, and to have different interests than her friends.

I think just about anyone who has gone to elementary or middle-school has experienced the pain of losing a best friend. I thought the author portrayed the emotions that Astrid felt very accurately and realistically. I also liked the fact that the author dealt with how Astrid’s mother felt when she found out that Astrid had not told her the truth about getting a ride from Nicole’s mother, and how the situation was handled. Astrid also learns about teamwork and determination.

The graphics were well drawn and were very colorful, but the writing and dialogue had a book feel to it, not just a graphic novel feel.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to both boys and girls in the 9-12 age range.

Show Less

It’s the summer before middle school and after seeing a roller derby match, Astrid decides that she wants to join the local junior roller derby camp. The only problem is that her best friend, Nicole, wants to attend dance camp instead. Astrid spends the summer struggling through roller derby

Show More

practices and forming new friendships. But will Astrid and Nicole ever be friends again? And will she get to play in the end of summer roller derby tournament? Middle grade graphic novel for fans of Raina Telgemeier. - SB

Show Less

That's it. I am getting this book for my classroom. Seriously, every middle schooler needs to read this book. And not just the girls. Boys will like this book if they can get past the fact that OH MY GOSH THERE'S A GIRL ON THE COVER. I recommend Wonder to every young reader I meet. Roller Girl will

Show More

be joining its ranks.

Growing up, changing friendships, popularity, chasing new dreams, failing, parents, letting yourself shine, and stepping out of the spotlight. Roller Girl covers all of these topics without ever becoming preachy or moralistic. The book is just fun and Astrid learns these lessons naturally.

Teacher note: mild, brief language when one character is making fun of anothe

Show Less

In this charmingly illustrated graphic novel, Astrid (12) discovers at the outset that she wants to be a roller-derby girl. Her best friend for life has no interest, and prefers her ballet lessons. At least half the story takes place at the Roller-girl camp, where Astrid is learning to skate and

Show More

play the game. The other half involves her deceit in telling her mother that her best friend is going to the camp as well, and her deteriorating relationship with one friend, and the blossoming friendship with another, who is at the roller girl camp.
It's a great story of being true to oneself, and dealing with the hard fact of life that, as we grow and change, we are all bound to lose some friends we love. It is also a good lesson in determination, because at the outset, Astrid is not just terrible at roller derby - she's terrible at skating entirely, but she never gives up.

Show Less

Generally friendships in elementary school are less complicated than those in middle school. The ease with which Astrid and Nicole were friends at a young age becomes more complicated in adolescence, when they begin to pursue different activities and ultimately a different set of friends. The story

Show More

focuses on Astrid and her new found love of roller derby. She learns to skate and along the way learns that relationships are as complicated as learning to be on a roller derby team (and often just as painful). The illustrations in this graphic novel do a great job of conveying the emotions of the characters making this a very engaging read!

Show Less

Great graphic novel about friendship, girl power, surviving middle school, and roller derby!

Fans of Raina Telgemeier's series will love this new graphic novel. Roller Derby is not a topic that is usually covered in children's lit! This is a classic coming of age story in the most unlikely of settings.

Astrid and Nicole have been best friends since forever, but as 7th grade approaches, they find themselves growing apart. Astrid mother takes her and best friend Nicole to a roller derby girls game. They love it and learn there is to be a roller derby camp during the summer. Astrid hopes Nicole will

Show More

attend roller derby camp with her, but Nicole decides to go to ballet camp, instead – so Astrid is on her own in roller derby camp, surrounded by a group of girls who seem much tougher and more mature than she is. Despite the fact that she feels alone and overwhelmed, Astrid persists – she’s fueled by the first derby tournament she saw, and her desire to be tough and fearless like her favorite skater, Rainbow Bite. The reader follows Astride as she learns the roller derby world, with great difficulty I might add. You also experience her changing friendships and relationship with her mother.

Show Less

Genre: graphic novel; sports; friendship
Plot: 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.
Conflict: Astrid feels badly about doing

Show More

something without Nicole. It’s relationship in which Astrid is more dependent on Nicole’s friendship then Nicole who wants to move beyond having Astrid as her only friend.

Show Less