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A review by oldandnewbooksmell
Bruised by Tanya Boteju
3.0
Trigger Warnings: Trauma, parent death, self harm
Daya sees bruises as a mixture of comfort and control. When she sees her first roller derby match, she's instantly in love with the amount of bruising she can get. But joining a team pushes her towards truths she's struggling to come to terms with.
I liked the representation this book has (queer characters, they/them, deaf character, Sri Lanka) and I liked the information about roller derby... but that's really it?
Daya was really hard to like, and that's a part of her character and her growth, but it sometimes just got annoying. I'm also a bit confused/annoyed with Kat... we get her background from her sister but I still don't feel like it justifies why she did some of the things that she did besides she's a jerk.
I do wish there was more bonding with the derby team. I know it's hard for Daya and she struggled with it but I felt like I didn't know the team. I can remember that there was Kate and two other girls, but even writing this 16 hours after finishing the book, I can't remember their names, and then Shanti.
I loved how supporting Fee is, they're amazing and a rock solid friend that Daya definitely needs.
Overall I did enjoy the book, it was fun to see a bit of the inside of a sport I don't know much about.
Daya sees bruises as a mixture of comfort and control. When she sees her first roller derby match, she's instantly in love with the amount of bruising she can get. But joining a team pushes her towards truths she's struggling to come to terms with.
I liked the representation this book has (queer characters, they/them, deaf character, Sri Lanka) and I liked the information about roller derby... but that's really it?
Daya was really hard to like, and that's a part of her character and her growth, but it sometimes just got annoying. I'm also a bit confused/annoyed with Kat... we get her background from her sister but I still don't feel like it justifies why she did some of the things that she did besides she's a jerk.
I do wish there was more bonding with the derby team. I know it's hard for Daya and she struggled with it but I felt like I didn't know the team. I can remember that there was Kate and two other girls, but even writing this 16 hours after finishing the book, I can't remember their names, and then Shanti.
I loved how supporting Fee is, they're amazing and a rock solid friend that Daya definitely needs.
Overall I did enjoy the book, it was fun to see a bit of the inside of a sport I don't know much about.