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tackysapphic's review
good! some parts were really hard to listen to, but that’s the nature of memoirs and autobiographies I suppose
Graphic: Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Vomit, Homophobia, Grief, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
queerandweird's review
5.0
All bodies are welcome and can succeed in roller derby, unlike most other sports. We truly are unlike most other sports culturally, and I celebrate that.
Spark/Gabe writes beautifully about her past and how it fueled her future as a roller skating athlete. Ugh, her injury and recovery were brutal to relive, I'm sure Arch has improved their incident practices and rates of CPR-trained coaches since her spiral fracture - but holy gods that was a dumpster fire of an injury response and let it be a lesson to ALWAYS call 911 with a broken leg.
Rant ahead: Broken legs are WAY too big a longterm and LIFE risk to leave a skater alone for 20+min as you wait for an EMT-trained friend to tape up the break with a f*cking pizza box, for a ride in the back of a bumpy car without pain killers. nonono. My horror. Please ensure your leagues have skaters at every practice who are CPR-certified and informed in injury protocol, omg have injury protocols - esp. for concussions. Loving rant concluded <3
Fortunately, Spark is a beast as so many of us derby athletes are! I remember my spiral fracture tib fib recovery distinctly as well, the joy of walking again in pools - just feeling the weight on my injured leg when I had been so fragile, literally broken, was a lesson in growth, finding my resolve to heal from the mental & physical trauma of split bones. Her book depicted that brutal injury so often faced by athletes on rollerskates honestly and I loved all of the grit in recovery.
What she didn't talk about was the downside of overtraining, that's often why new athletes are injured or folks not balancing their intense derby training & cross-training with mobility, massage, and other active rest practices. It's great, and necessary, to have drive in our sport - it's also necessary to take time for muscles & connective tissue to heal throughout the training week.
Ending with marriage was so sweet! Kelly and Gabe's relationship was heart-warming and familiar <3 Gabe, I hope you've continued to address your eating disorder and improve your relationship with food, ; it can take a lifetime and know to lean on (and be honest with) your community.
The book has conflicting info for where the couple ended up, one says St. Louis and the other says Denton, TX - which, yuck y'all please you don't want to be in Denton, teaching probably isn't worth it and the derby is nooot the best.
Though, I hear through the derby grapevine that they're living in St. Louis as of Spring '23, where Gabe has been performing drag!! So exciting if this is true, wishing the best for your love and happiness.
Graphic: Eating disorder, Body shaming, Medical content, Vomit, Bullying, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia
anielabooks's review
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Medical content
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use, Excrement, and Vomit
matchaluuver's review
5.0
Graphic: Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Homophobia, Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Medical trauma
halfwaytoaugust's review against another edition
5.0
In this book, we get insights into roller derby, injuries, queerness, and toxic family situations. Is it strange to say I enjoyed reading about this? Maybe. But it was wholly captivating, unapologetically queer, and taught me more about what roller derby is, which I loved.
Gabe writes so beautifully, really drawing the reader in, & making it feel like we are experiencing everything too. Which makes for a very intense read. It's written non-linearly, with both present-day events and flashbacks to past events, but done in a way that makes complete sense and flows very well together.
It was such a great experience reading about how Gabe grew as a person, became more herself, and found a community. I also appreciate the candidness about the bad parts - the struggles and falling back into the toxic family dynamic. It shows life as it is.
I really think anyone in the queer community would enjoy this memoir like I did, keeping in mind the heaviness of some of the topics broached.
CW: emotional abuse, toxic family, disordered eating, injury, doctor's offices, hospital/ER stay, self harm, anxiety, vomit, unwanted touch, pandemic, HP references
Rating system:
5 - absolutely love, little-to-no dislikes that did not impact my reading experience
4 - great book, minor dislikes that did have an impact on my reading experience
3 - good/decent book but for some reason did not hook me or there were some problematic things that just were not addressed or greatly impacted my reading experience
2 - is either a book I did not click with and did not enjoy, problematic aspects are not addressed and severely impacted my reading experience, or I DNF'd but think it has potential for others
1 - is very problematic, I would not recommend the book to anyone
Thank you to Netgalley & The Dial Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic: Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Self harm
Moderate: Vomit
snowydaze's review against another edition
5.0
Although the pacing for the first few chapters seemed a little slow, it picked up shortly thereafter and maintained a steady pace for the remainder of the book. When coupled with the way she organized the memoir, this helped to keep my attention hooked for the rest of the book. Additionally, I enjoyed reading about how roller derby allowed for Gabe to have the necessary space to learn to not only be comfortable in her skin but to thrive. Her descriptions of longing to belong and the bonds of family that exceed beyond blood, were insightful and inspiring for those of us still looking for our place in the world. Overall, this memoir is an ode to roller derby, self acceptance and found families, with a queer cast of amazing individuals whose personalities shined through the pages.
Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit
caseythereader's review
4.75
- BRACE FOR IMPACT is a beautiful blend of queer discovery, relearning who you are away from your family, and peek into the wild and wonderful world of roller derby.
- This memoir is not for the faint of heart, given that it covers eating disorders, emotionally abusive parents, and horrific sports injuries, but following along as Montesanti grows more at home with herself is more than worth the trip. Plus, it's chock full of excellent derby player names.
- The joy of finding your queer home is so wonderful, I'm glad books like this one showcase that experience so lovingly.
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Ableism, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Vomit