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dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Car accident, Death of parent
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a young adult novel about a young woman (the character is still in high school but she's 18) who joins a roller derby league while dealing with unresolved personal trauma.
Like a lot of other reviews, I was surprised how severe the self-harm content was, and how often it came up in the book. Daya is also extremely obnoxious for the first half of the novel as a self-defence mechanism. It's understandable but it does make parts of the book a slog to get through. The romance was fine but a little underwhelming. Daya obviously benefited but the love interest kind of felt like a prop. The storyline with Kat dragged on way too long and never really felt resolved.
I did like the parts about the derby itself and all its events. Daya’s friend Fee and most of her derby friends were fun characters. I think it's valuable as well to show a character who is still struggling with trauma despite a supportive environment, and I loved how kind and understanding Daya’s aunt and uncle were about her sexuality since you don't usually see that in novels about immigrant families.
The second half of the book was wonderful, but I'm rating it a bit lower for the rough first half. I would not recommend this book to anyone with a history of self-harm because the narrative dwells on it for so long but I would recommend it to anyone else.
Like a lot of other reviews, I was surprised how severe the self-harm content was, and how often it came up in the book. Daya is also extremely obnoxious for the first half of the novel as a self-defence mechanism. It's understandable but it does make parts of the book a slog to get through. The romance was fine but a little underwhelming. Daya obviously benefited but the love interest kind of felt like a prop. The storyline with Kat dragged on way too long and never really felt resolved.
I did like the parts about the derby itself and all its events. Daya’s friend Fee and most of her derby friends were fun characters. I think it's valuable as well to show a character who is still struggling with trauma despite a supportive environment, and I loved how kind and understanding Daya’s aunt and uncle were about her sexuality since you don't usually see that in novels about immigrant families.
The second half of the book was wonderful, but I'm rating it a bit lower for the rough first half. I would not recommend this book to anyone with a history of self-harm because the narrative dwells on it for so long but I would recommend it to anyone else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is a coming of age story of a teenager who just lost her parents, trying to find their identity and trying to navigate grief and growing pains. It was a good read. I like how they portrayed trauma and grief. I also appreciate how they portrayed people of color, the culture was subtile. By subtile I mean they are people living their life, and as a Black women I appreciate seeing all races being allowed to just live their life. I love how the characters were not cookie cutter or stereotypical. The only problem is the way the story wrapped up. I don’t like rushed character development, and I dont like rushed endings. And the ending left me wanting more from the main character. I kinda felt that change was kinda realistic , with all the baggage the character was dealing with I feel like I wanted to get to know the “new” main character more. What I mean by that is I wanted to see them in their new form. But maybe I should just be satisfied with the ending and come up with something inside my mind. Sometimes (unlike the MCU) books just end and that’s good thing. So if you like books with good laughs, embarrassing moments, lovable characters, many diverse characters(including poc and LGBTQ+), heartfelt moments, Great characters growth. Then this is the book for you enjoy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Death of parent
Minor: Car accident
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
whip it but queer ? incredible. im all for it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Physical abuse
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Car accident, Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol
Minor: Transphobia
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Death of parent
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Transphobia
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This makes me wish I were surrounded by a community like Daya has. Queer, accepting, dramatic, and amazing. It was really wonderful to see her grow throughout the book, and learn more about roller derby. I just really, really loved this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Domestic abuse
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Contemporary is not really my choice genre to read but I will always make an exception for queer stories.
This was an incredibly quick read for me but unfortunately not a exceptional read. I enjoyed reading the parts about Roller Derby, however the main character was just awful and I know she has been through something horrific but it was hard to sympathise with her when she was just plain rude and arrogant.
There was so much diversity within the story with lots of POC and LGBT+ characters which was fantastic to see but they felt a little one dimensional. I would love to have seen a little more of a build up with the romance, it was clear the love interest had a thing Daya but Daya being interested in them was out of nowhere.
The topic of self harm was dealt with well however the end result not so much. Love does not cure Mental Illness and it felt very rushed how everything wrapped up.
This was an incredibly quick read for me but unfortunately not a exceptional read. I enjoyed reading the parts about Roller Derby, however the main character was just awful and I know she has been through something horrific but it was hard to sympathise with her when she was just plain rude and arrogant.
There was so much diversity within the story with lots of POC and LGBT+ characters which was fantastic to see but they felt a little one dimensional. I would love to have seen a little more of a build up with the romance, it was clear the love interest had a thing Daya but Daya being interested in them was out of nowhere.
The topic of self harm was dealt with well however the end result not so much. Love does not cure Mental Illness and it felt very rushed how everything wrapped up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Grief
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent