The most entertaining and authentic depiction of modern adolescence sports. ( )

I always loved watching roller derby on TV when I was growing up and loved the movie "Whip It" with Ellen Paige. The author, who is a skater with the Rose City rollers Roller Derby League presents us with a great graphic novel that not only provides details about the "how" of skating, but about gaining self-confidence and navigating the issues of growing up. ( )

The Story follows the adventure of a girl who discovers roller derby as her best friend and her grow apart. The story talks about coming of age and finding interests that might affect the friendships we held. The story is all about the friends we can make or keep along with the experience of growing up and trying new things eventually finding who we want to be.

Growing up is hard. As girls age, they find different likes, and can start to stray from long held friendships. In Roller Girl, Astrid falls in love with Roller Derby. It is so geeky, but edgy at the same time. Her friend, however, is more into dance. Their friendship starts to splinter as Astrid pulls more to Roller Derby. She is not very good and does a lot of falling but she is learning to get up on her own feet and to find the courage to go forth without her best friend. It also means she learns to make new friends, and in the long run how to be a better friend overall. This book was a Newberry honor book and it deserves that honor. It is a timeless tale of friendship and growing up. It shows that growing up, and growing apart is not always a bad thing, but sometimes what is needed to broaden horizons, try new things, and become the person on the outside you feel on the inside. ( )