Astrid Vasquez and her best friend Nicole can barely tolerate Astrid’s mother’s regular Evenings of Cultural Enrichment until she surprises them with a Rose City Rollers roller derby match. Astrid is hooked and is eager to sign up for roller derby summer camp. She assumes Nicole will, too. But Nicole has other plans for the summer, attending dance camp with Astrid’s long-time nemesis, and Astrid feels betrayed. As Astrid goes through hard weeks of training, leading up to a junior bout during the half-time of a pro roller derby match, she makes a new friend but still feels the sting of losing Nicole. Roller derby gives her an outlet for her anger as she discovers she has a fierce competitive streak. When Astrid unintentionally hurts her new friend, it’s an opportunity for self-reflection, but there’s plenty of roller derby action here, too, as novice skater Astrid gains skills and confidence but, realistically, never gets to be really good. Along the way, she gets some tips about finding her own inner strength through an ongoing secret correspondence with her hero, Rose City Roller Rainbow Brite. This witty, original, and action-packed graphic novel was written and illustrated by a skater for the Rose City Rollers. (Ages 8–13)

The Newbery Honor Award Winner and New York Times bestseller Roller Girl is a heartwarming graphic novel about friendship and surviving junior high through the power of roller derby—perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier's Smile! 

For most of her twelve years, Astrid has done everything with her best friend Nicole. But after Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for derby camp, Nicole decides to go to dance camp instead. And so begins the most difficult summer of Astrid's life as she struggles to keep up with the older girls at camp, hang on to the friend she feels slipping away, and cautiously embark on a new friendship. As the end of summer nears and her first roller derby bout (and junior high!) draws closer, Astrid realizes that maybe she is strong enough to handle the bout, a lost friendship, and middle school… in short, strong enough to be a roller girl.

In this graphic novel debut that earned a Newbery Honor and five starred reviews, real-life derby girl Victoria Jamieson has created an inspiring coming-of-age story about friendship, perseverance, and girl power!