Roller derby, a contact sport played by teams, isn’t very well known in the UK but boy, it looks great fun in Victoria Jamieson’s graphic novel. A rough-and-tumble sport, unusually it is mostly played by girls; Astrid is hooked first game she sees, and signs up to train at summer camp. Her best friend, who prefers ballet, can’t understand this new passion and the two grow apart. In her efforts to become a real roller girl like her hero Rainbow Bite, Astrid gets knocked down countless times, but she always gets up again. She makes a new friend, and over the course of this roller skating summer discovers lots about independence and working out who you are. This is as much about friendship as roller skating, and both are depicted brilliantly in Jamieson’s bright, action-packed cartoon strips. Terrific!
Astrid has always done everything with her best friend Nicole. So when Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for a summer camp, she's sure Nicole will be right by her side - until Nicole signs up for ballet camp instead, with Astrid's biggest rival.
And so begins the hardest summer of Astrid's life, as she struggles to stay on her skates, to learn who she is without Nicole . . . and to find out what it takes to be a strong, tough, awesome roller girl.
