osprey_archer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
osprey_archer) wrote2016-02-09 09:12 am
osprey_archer) wrote2016-02-09 09:12 am
Book Review: Roller Girl
I quite enjoyed Victoria Jamieson’s Roller Girl, a graphic novel about roller derby that got a Newbery Honor award this year. It’s sort of one-half sports movie (with a few knowing winks at this fact: there’s an awesome scene where Astrid brainstorms training techniques that she’s culled from sports movies, ending with “watch more sports movies”) and one-half friendship drama.
When twelve-year-old Astrid joins roller derby summer camp, she expects her best friend Nicole to follow along with her plans the way that Nicole usually does. But Nicole has other plans: she’s going to attend ballet summer camp.
I loved the sports movie half - Astrid is endearingly terrible at roller skating for pretty much the entire book, and it’s amazing watching her power through that because she wants to do roller derby so damn much - and I thought the friendship half was well done, even though it’s kind of painful to read.
For a while they aren’t speaking to each other. Nicole’s ballet friend (who is also, naturally, Astrid’s enemy ever since first grade) tries to poison Nicole against Astrid; Astrid concludes that it’s working and rages against Nicole for her treacherous treachery.
But eventually Astrid and Nicole talk to each other and come to a rapprochement. They have different interests now - or, rather, they have always had different interests, and (as Nicole points out) Nicole has always tried to be interested in Astrid’s interests, while Astrid has always dismissed Nicole’s more girly pursuits - but that doesn’t meant that they hate each other.
Nicole attends Astrid’s roller derby bout, and brings her a bouquet of flowers to show that they’re really friends. She asks Astrid out to dinner, but Astrid wants to hang out with her team instead.
Nicole leaves. And then one of Astrid’s teammates asks her to dinner instead, and Astrid goes with her... leaving Nicole’s bouquet behind.
And, okay, on the one hand, I can’t argue with the realism: childhood friends often do have diverging interests as they grow up, and it often does mean that they grow apart, and it’s good that Astrid and Nicole could face this well enough that their friendship can fade away on amiable terms, rather than being destroyed in a big fiery explosion of rage and hatred.
But on the other hand, they’re not friends anymore and it’s so sad and Nicole brought flowers to Astrid’s bout for her - flowers! flowers! - and Astrid just abandons this symbol of their beautiful friendship right there on the bleachers when she goes out to dinner with her new derby friend! You could at least bring the flowers along, you monster!
Also, Astrid is probably the gayest children’s book character ever. The book never comes right out and says this, but there’s a lot of evidence to support it. Astrid joins roller derby in part because she’s infatuated with one of the derby players, Rainbow Bite. She gets a Rainbow Bite poster and hangs it over her bed. She repeatedly mentions how horrible she finds Nicole’s burgeoning interest in boys (and clothes, and ballet, and other girly things, but the boy thing is most salient).
Plus, she wears frickin’ rainbow socks as part of her derby outfit. She wears rainbow socks on the book cover. Rainbow socks which Nicole bought for her. How much more clearly could Nicole say, “I love and support you even though I don’t swing that way”? NICOLE IS THE BEST FRIEND EVER AND YOU SHOULD TREASURE HER LIKE A RARE AND BEAUTIFUL JEWEL, ASTRID.
When twelve-year-old Astrid joins roller derby summer camp, she expects her best friend Nicole to follow along with her plans the way that Nicole usually does. But Nicole has other plans: she’s going to attend ballet summer camp.
I loved the sports movie half - Astrid is endearingly terrible at roller skating for pretty much the entire book, and it’s amazing watching her power through that because she wants to do roller derby so damn much - and I thought the friendship half was well done, even though it’s kind of painful to read.
For a while they aren’t speaking to each other. Nicole’s ballet friend (who is also, naturally, Astrid’s enemy ever since first grade) tries to poison Nicole against Astrid; Astrid concludes that it’s working and rages against Nicole for her treacherous treachery.
But eventually Astrid and Nicole talk to each other and come to a rapprochement. They have different interests now - or, rather, they have always had different interests, and (as Nicole points out) Nicole has always tried to be interested in Astrid’s interests, while Astrid has always dismissed Nicole’s more girly pursuits - but that doesn’t meant that they hate each other.
Nicole attends Astrid’s roller derby bout, and brings her a bouquet of flowers to show that they’re really friends. She asks Astrid out to dinner, but Astrid wants to hang out with her team instead.
Nicole leaves. And then one of Astrid’s teammates asks her to dinner instead, and Astrid goes with her... leaving Nicole’s bouquet behind.
And, okay, on the one hand, I can’t argue with the realism: childhood friends often do have diverging interests as they grow up, and it often does mean that they grow apart, and it’s good that Astrid and Nicole could face this well enough that their friendship can fade away on amiable terms, rather than being destroyed in a big fiery explosion of rage and hatred.
But on the other hand, they’re not friends anymore and it’s so sad and Nicole brought flowers to Astrid’s bout for her - flowers! flowers! - and Astrid just abandons this symbol of their beautiful friendship right there on the bleachers when she goes out to dinner with her new derby friend! You could at least bring the flowers along, you monster!
Also, Astrid is probably the gayest children’s book character ever. The book never comes right out and says this, but there’s a lot of evidence to support it. Astrid joins roller derby in part because she’s infatuated with one of the derby players, Rainbow Bite. She gets a Rainbow Bite poster and hangs it over her bed. She repeatedly mentions how horrible she finds Nicole’s burgeoning interest in boys (and clothes, and ballet, and other girly things, but the boy thing is most salient).
Plus, she wears frickin’ rainbow socks as part of her derby outfit. She wears rainbow socks on the book cover. Rainbow socks which Nicole bought for her. How much more clearly could Nicole say, “I love and support you even though I don’t swing that way”? NICOLE IS THE BEST FRIEND EVER AND YOU SHOULD TREASURE HER LIKE A RARE AND BEAUTIFUL JEWEL, ASTRID.
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I also think maybe I've understated Nicole's side of the feud? I think she's less to blame than Astrid, but she's not totally blameless.
But I really do want them to continue being friends. But they can have more than one friend! They can both have friends for their ballet/roller derby interests, and continue being friends with each other!
no subject
exactly!
(and no doubt you're right about us not being the target audience, though I do at least want to see it, because graphic novel!)
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