Astrid and her mother have a tradition that involves taking in cultural experiences, like nights at the opera or trips to art museums. Astrid frequently likes to drag her best friend, Nicole, along for the ride. On one fateful night, Astrid's mother takes the girls to see a roller derby. Astrid is immediately smitten with the sport. When it's discovered the derby team offers a summer camp for teenage girls, Astrid knows exactly what she and Nicole are going to be doing all summer. Unfortunately, Nicole wasn't as enraptured by roller derby as Astrid and instead has plans to spend her summer at ballet camp.
Roller derby camp turns out to be much more difficult than Astrid expected, especially without her best friend. All of Astrid's visions of herself as an elite jammer (the most competitive position in roller derby) for the Rosebuds dissolve in a mess of sweat and tears as poor Astrid falls, trips and becomes otherwise frustrated. After a rough first week, Astrid begins to get a handle on things - she can skate without falling, and she makes a new friend, Zoe.
As the summer progresses, things get both better and worse. Astrid continues to improve in her derby skills, but the rest of her life is turning into a mess. Her friendship with Nicole is eroding, and Astrid has been lying to her mother about Nicole's involvement with derby camp. Guilt-ridden, lonely and exhausted, Astrid's saving grace is the possibility of being able to participate in an exhibition bout during halftime at the Rose City Roller Girls' upcoming meet. Astrid knows if she works extra, extra hard, she'll get to be the jammer for her team. After all, it always works like that in inspirational books and movies, right?
Sometimes life just doesn't go the way we want it to, and it's always more difficult to handle that disappointment during those early teen years. Astrid is, in many ways, like so many other teens. She has big dreams, and those dreams can, on occasion, obscure reality. Astrid's unrealistic goals frequently come close to destroying everything she's worked for, but her growth as a character gradually allows for her to overcome her disappointment and jealousy when things don't go her way. Astrid doesn't always make the best decisions, but she learns in the end and becomes a better person for it. Through all of her trials, Astrid becomes a better friend, daughter and teammate.
There's a lot to love in "Roller Girl." The ending of author Victoria Jamieson's graphic novel is so sweet and perfect that it is surprisingly affecting, even to those with no experience with roller derby. Smart, sassy, empowering and slyly sophisticated, "Roller Girl" hits all the right notes and is a must-read for young (and not-so-young) girls and women everywhere.
Courtney Waters is teen services librarian at Missouri River Regional Library.