Customer Reviews

Derby Girl

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While wandering through the young adult section of my local library, I came across DERBY GIRL. I had seen the book in the bookstore on other occasions but never bought it. I picked it up at the library and took it home with me. Not knowing what to expect, I started reading, and was instantly enthralled by the life of Bliss Cavender.

Fans of A&E's Rollergirls will especially enjoy this book.

Bliss is too big for Bodeen, Texas. Bliss is a sixteen-year-old high school student that can't wait to get out of her small town. Her mom is obsessed with beauty pageants, and expects Bliss to follow in her footsteps. However, Bliss is better known for receiving the "certificate of participation" rather than the tiara. She is more comfortable in her 80's thrift store T-shirts rather than teased hair and evening gowns.

On a shopping trip to the big city of Austin, Bliss snags a flyer advertising Roller Derby. In her younger days, Bliss was pretty good on four wheels, and she hatches a plot with her friend, Pash, to sneak back to Austin (an hour from Bodeen) for try-outs. After a shaky start on skates, Bliss soon remembers the feel of the wheels under her feet and is totally addicted.

Sneaking out twice a week under the guise of an SAT-prep course, Bliss soon becomes Babe Ruthless and a fan favorite for the Austin Roller Derby scene.

Covering the topics of fitting in, parental disagreements, first love, and finding out who you are meant to be, DERBY GIRL does not disappoint. The story moves quickly without any needless sidelines to interrupt the plot. Ms. Cross's style is hip and spunky. She uses many slang phrases as well as abbreviations to keep in touch with the teen audience.

Bliss is a lot of fun and independent. It's refreshing to read a story where the lead character is comfortable with who she is meant to be and stays true to herself the entire way through the story.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Bliss and the other characters in this book. It is a great character study of teenage life in the new millennium. If you love music, roller derby, or Austin Texas, you will enjoy this book. And it's not just for teens. It would make a great movie!

High school misfit Bliss Cavendar, aka Babe Ruthless, dyes her hair blue, loves indie music and wants OUT of the tiny Texas town that makes her feel like she must have been misplaced by her real family who are surely living in some cool urban setting like San Fransisco or NY City. Instead, Bliss has a beauty pageant obsessed mother who hopes Bliss will be able to win the big name crowns she never did. Bliss is going through the motions to please her mom, mostly keeping her sarcastic thoughts to herself, when she discovers Roller Derby--a no holds barred counter culture scene she desperately wants to join.

Bliss has never been athletic and at the Derby tryouts she has to pretend she is already 18, but after some streaking laps around the track in her old Barbie skates she earns a spot on the Hurl Scouts team (think a gang of bad-girl girl scouts.) To get to the team's practices in Austin she has to tell her parents she's taking an SAT prep class and hitch a ride on the senior center's bingo bus.

Of course the local Miss Bluebonnet beauty pageant is on the same night as the biggest derby event of the season.

A fast, fun read. If you enjoyed the movie, you'll love the book--the author wrote the screen play--and if love the book you'll want to see the movie. With smart dialog and family members that bicker but ultimately come through for each other, Whip It reminds me a little of the movie Juno--and of course Ellen Page stars in both.

Whip It is a fantastic book! I wanted to read it before seeing the movie, and let me tell you it does not disappoint. From the very first page, I was laughing hard enough to embarrass myself in public. It's hard to describe to non-reading friends how something as simple as letters and words can be strung into sentences and thoughts that can have such a strong effect on a person, but if you read Whip It and don't bust out guffawing and snorting at totally inappropriate moments then you'd better check your pulse, baby.

Bliss Cavendar - damn that's a great name - and she's a phenomenal character... character being the operative word here. She doesn't fit in at all in Bodeen, but Bliss is totally comfortable with herself - a real rarity for a teenage girl. She is thoroughly authentic, with an original voice and genuine understanding of who she really is. I fell in love with her, and with all the delightful misfits orbiting around her.

Shauna Cross is an amazing storyteller. She "gets" small-town Texas as only a native can. The relationships she writes are so fresh and dynamic, you just can't help becoming absorbed in their lives. The story is incredibly engaging and just... FUN! It's wonderful to reading something so witty and enjoyable after a hard days work. Whip It is a real treat!

I read Derby Girl one evening after work. It had been a rough day and this was a perfect read to lift my spirits. I fell in love with the characters and the relationships each of them has with one another. It is a quick, easy read and I finished it feeling satisfied and excited by the story! I look forward to more books by Shauna Cross. She is a talented writer and storyteller.

In what is sure to be a YA/Young Adult genre book to resonate with precocious pre-teen/teen girls in small towns everywhere, this book mines familiar coming-of-age rites for its lead character's story arc. Bliss is feeling trapped by her mom's idea of what her mom wants her to be (which is partly the mom unknowingly trying to relive her past through her daughter) but she's finding that growing up and breaking off on your own isn't as easy as it might first seem. What makes this book fresh is its uncompromising look at real emotions and real world stuff through a teenager's eyes, as well as having the roller derby world as the catalyst to Bliss' self-discovery.

I bought Derby Girl a couple of years ago, as soon as I heard it was being made into a film, titled Whip It. Roller derby plus snarky, kick-ass girls is a recipe for awesome, right? Now that I've read the book (finally!) I'm surprised at how faithful the movie was - it's almost exactly the same, and they got the casting spot-on!

For those who haven't seen the film or read the book (both of which I would recommend), Derby Girl is about 16-year-old Bliss Cavendar living in Bodeen, Texas. Her mum is into the pageant circuit (hence the cringeworthy name), but Bliss has next to no interest in make-up and dresses. She's music-obsessed, witty, and works with best friend Pash at barbecue restaurant Oink Joint. The job really is bad as the name suggests, but it's money and a way for Bliss to do what she wants. I thought it was great that she'd take a job she hated just so she could support herself. I like that quality in YA characters and I'd like to see more.

Derby Girl really kicks off when Bliss discovers the local roller derby teams, tries out and ends up playing, kicking ass and with the nickname Babe Ruthless. Nothing goes smoothly, of course, with Bliss fighting her parents tooth and nail to continue with her newfound passion. Her mum disapproves, leading Bliss to lie and sneak around. I'm sure we've all done that during our teenage years, but Bliss does it with a certain style and I-don't-care attitude. If she wants something she doesn't let anything get in her way, which I thought was a brilliant character trait.

There's some romance in Derby Girl though it isn't a central focus of the story. It's more of a sub-plot, albeit an effective one. Bliss learns a valuable lesson about boys, and she also learns to hold on to her favourite shirts. Sometimes boys ain't worth losing your best clothing over!

I really liked Derby Girl, though I know I would have liked it more had I read it before I saw the film. There were no surprises for me the whole way through the book which slightly hampered my enjoyment. So, my advice to you is to read the book and then see the movie. I think you'll appreciate both a lot more, which is why I'm going to rewatch Whip It as soon as possible. Ellen Page FTW!

I read this a while before the the movie came out & man did it make me want to strap on a pair of skates & take a ride! SUCH a fun book! I adored the characters & the story & was sad when it ended. I hope Shauna Cross writes something else because this was a HOOT of a book for young & old alike!

This book was a teen dream come true. My teenage years were equally if not more lame than poor Bliss'. I would have killed for the exciting roller derby escape from the lame, "craptastic" town that I'm from. I liked Pash alot at the first of the book, she seemed to totally have Bliss' back 100%. Of course jealousy sets in later on and she is angry at Bliss. The first comment that she said that annoyed me was "you're just using me for my car". Bliss went through huge things in her teenage life and Pash turned her back on her. Bliss' parent's are something else. Her "fraidy cat" dad and her pushy pageant mom are so annoying. I just wanted to grab her dad and shake him. DEFEND YOUR DAUGHTER... CHICKEN S*@T!! Then we have Oliver... oh do I remember that pain!!! My heart felt smashed for the poor girl. I could feel her heart break. Last but not least you have the bad a** roller derby girls... They were very accepting of Bliss. I wish we could have got to know them a little better. That is the one thing about this book that I didn't care for... I felt there was alot going on. I love when a book leaves you feeling well rounded and complete, "Whip It" did not do that for me. It was good though. A very quick easy read. I read it in about 4 hours. I enjoyed it and now I will pass it on to my daughter because I know she will love it.

Bliss is a 16-year-old girl who lives in a tiny town with a mother who is obsessed with beauty pageants. Bliss, who is much more comfortable in thrift store clothes and sneakers, is like an anti-beauty queen. And once she discovers roller derby, she's like Barbie gone bad.

Bliss hasn't been on skates for years, but after a wobbly start (which I could so relate to), she finds her balance (and her derby persona, Babe Ruthless) and is soon jamming and blocking with the rest of the team. Here's a quote: "At practice, the humiliation factor decreases as my skating improves. Even though I'm covered in bruises, aka 'derby kisses,' I feel surprisingly proud of what I'm learning to do. (It's so weird; I'm kind of like a jock.)" Ha! Every derby girl knows what those 'derby kisses' are all about.

Set against the backdrop of Austin's derby scene, Bliss has many experiences that average teens will recognize--clueless parents, first love, and BFF issues. Through it all, Bliss understands herself and is not afraid to stand up for who she is and what she needs. Her independence and sarcastic wit hooked me right away.