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sarah984's review against another edition
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
3.0
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: Death of parent, Grief, Self harm, and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Alcohol, and Bullying
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Transphobia, and Violence
wonderlandbooks's review
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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 and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Violence
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