Author: Victoria Jamieson
Publisher: Scholastic
Year Published: 2015
Genre: Graphic Novel, Realistic Fiction
Reader Recommendation:
- Middle Schoolers (Grades 5-8)
- Female students (strong female focus)
- Students looking for a book with humour and heart
- Realistic and relevant for students transitioning into junior high
- Appeals to those who like sports/athletics
- Visual Learners
It begins as another one of Mom’s cultural nights out, except this time, Astrid is not witnessing a boring play or looking at art she doesn’t understand, her mother takes her and her best friend Nicole to a roller derby competition. Astrid is immediately mesmerized when she sees the skaters in the bout, especially Rainbow Brite, who captures Astrid’s attention with her moves and colorful socks. From this moment on, Astrid has her eyes fixed on one thing, becoming the best junior roller derby girl out there, and she is willing to pay any price to do it. However, what happens when that price includes losing her best friend, lying to her Mom, and changing who she is?
Why Roller Girl?
Roller Girl truly embodies the middle school experience. Astrid navigates through finding her identity, exploring her talents, friendships and popularity, and the process of growing up. Readers can connect to the friendship drama Astrid goes through. For example, throughout the book, Astrid struggles with the distance that forms between her and her best friend Nicole when they develop different interests and make different friends. Astrid is scared of how she will make it in junior high without the friend she has always had by her side. In addition to this, many readers can relate to Astrid and her determination to be a part of roller derby even when she had a rocky start. Astrid started off as a terrible skater, and in the end she still was not perfect, but she did stick it out to the end and made progress because of it. For middle schoolers who are also in this stage of exploring their talents, they can look at Astrid and know to stay strong.
Themes:
Friendship: Astrid realizes that her and her lifelong best friend have developed different interests and have made new friends. She wonders how this will impact their junior high experience and she must learn to accept that things do not always stay the same.
Identity: As Astrid begins roller derby camp, she begins to question who she is. She sees the roller derby girls with their eccentric outfits and hair and experiments with her own style. She attempts to figure out her image.
Perseverance: When Astrid starts roller derby, she struggles to succeed. Throughout camp, she does all she can to improve. By the end, she is still not a perfect skater, but she has grown so much compared to when she started.
Inspiration: Astrid is inspired and given hope by the other roller derby girls, especially her favorite star, Rainbow Brite. She exchanges notes with Rainbow Brite and together they lift each other up.
Roller Girl has a strong female perspective, making it appropriate for a literature circle or choice book that can fit into a larger unit about growing up and identity.
Roller Girl in the Classroom:
Writing Activities: Have students write about a time that they had to work hard at something in order to get better.
Activating Background Knowledge: For many, roller derby may be a new topic. Give students clippings from articles or non-fiction titles on roller derby and have them work with peers to learn about roller derby and its history as a sport.
Character Charts: Have students create character maps for different characters and how they relate to one another.
Cause and Effect: Students can complete cause and effect flow charts to connect events in the story such as Astrid and Nicole's friendship, Astrid lying to her mom, and Astrid improving her skating.
Connecting Activity: Have each student come up with their own roller derby name and share it with the class! They can make an individual poster about their name and include images/text that relate to it.
Additional Resources:
Teachingbooks.net: https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=43641
Author interview, discussion questions, lesson plans
Author Website: www.victoriajamieson.com
About the author, illustration and sketches, kids Olympic activities
Real Life Roller Derby:
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