"Social anxiety, her parents' divorce, and tumultuous friendships won't stop Millie's pursuit of what she wants--in roller derby and in love. But her own lies might…
Sixteen-year-old Millie Novak is stuck in an "if only" rut. If only she were stronger and faster, maybe her roller derby teammates would take her seriously. If only she had the guts to go back to in-person learning, maybe she'd have a social life. If only she wasn't such an awkward mess, maybe she could get the attention of that cute girl on the all-star derby team. And don't get her started on her family!
After the one-two punch of her beloved older brother's departure for college and her parents' overdue split, leaving her lonelier than ever, Millie decides it's time to reinvent herself. With the help of her new friend Pumpkin and a little bit of deceit, Millie crafts a plan to cement her status on the team and get her crush to fall for her.
But reinvention isn't easy. Millie's constantly shown up by show-off teammate Stork, and the only way she can get her crush's attention is through increasingly elaborate lies. Worse, she begins to suspect Pumpkin is not the supportive friend she'd imagined. Toughest to handle? Realizing the person she's in love with might not be her longtime crush, after all."
I got an ARC of this book.
Looking at the cover after I read the book and it has large spoilers on it. That seems really weird to have on the cover. It isn't like a small detail, but a very large one that is noticable. So that is a bit strange, but I am amused. The cover is something that immediately got my attention.
I am a derby fan. I go to as many bouts as I can (weird fact about this book. The bouts are called games throughout the whole book and the MC actively corrects people to make it game. It might be a regional thing, but yeah bout not game is common in my area of derby). I am friends with skaters and announcers. I was working on being a NSO, but health problems got in the way. I was more than ready to for this book. I NEEDED this book. I need more derby books.
Mighty is a dick. I couldn't stand her. I considered not finishing the book, because of her. She was so immature and whiney and just a dick. If that puts you off, know that she does grow. She does realize she is being terrible. She does get consequences for her actions. So know, it is worth getting through her bullshit to see what happens. I know, she is 15-16, but oof. Still hard to read through. Stork as a MC would have worked so much better for me. She did take a little bit to grow on me. Gables also would have been an amazing MC. Hell, Ann and Cleo would have also been amazing. Pretty much everyone, except Mighty or Pumpkin. I am so glad I didn't let Mighty drive me off. I am so glad there was a lot of learning for her and a lot of growth. She is by no means perfect by the end, but it felt like a realistic level of growth. It was age appropriate growth and just she really needed it.
The derby scenes were amazing. There was not a deep dive into rules. It felt more natural when those elements did come up. There was no info dumping. It might be helpful to read some rule infographics before diving in unless you have a handle on it (or watch any bouts announced by Thin Mint. Yes, I am a fan boy over an announcer. Trust me, they are WORTH IT). That is the only critique I had for that. It is clear that Holden loves derby and was able to translate that into text perfectly.
The romance was more complex than I was expecting. It felt like "shes gay, guess we belong together forever" for a while. Then twists and turns, and character growth. I really can't state enough how intense the character growth was. It was a huge strength in this book. It showed just how much a person can grow when they are actually held accountable and given real information. Some of the feedback was gentle, like with Ann. Some was a lot more blunt, like from Cleo or Spiny. It was all accurate and it was really a punch in the face for Mighty. It was incredible.
Overall, Mighty is awful, but that is intentional. She grows. The romance is cute, when you get to the twist. There are so many toxic things, but they get addressed and it was wonderful. So glad there is finally derby romance that is affordable!
4 out of 5 stars. I would recommend this book.
You can buy the book here.
~Isaiah
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