Roller Derby Rivals

Reviewed by: Shannon Schinagl - Maine State Library, Portland, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: October 31, 2014

Review

"Roller Derby Rivals" is written and illustrated by the duo who brought readers "Basketball Belles." Sue Macy loves writing about fearless women, and it certainly shows in this book!

Macy gives a short and understandable introduction to roller derby on the very first page. This is smart, given that roller derby may be a sport that many kids are not familiar with. The book does focus on the rivalry between two famous roller derby stars: Toughie Brasuhn and Gerry Murray. While Macy is honest about the violence in roller derby, she also is careful to show that each of the women is equally tough, and even points out that off the rink the women are friends.

Interestingly, this book is set during a real race set after WWII in 1948. The television was a new invention at the time, and Macy explains how roller derby helped make televisions more ubiquitous, and televisions make roller derby more widely known.

The race itself is action packed and exciting.

I am always critical of nonfiction that is missing what I consider key components. While this book does not have an index, "Roller Derby Rivals" is not written in a way that makes and index necessary. However, to my delight the book does have further information at the end of the story. In the Author's Note, Macy delves into more detail about roller derby and its relationship with television, as well as an excellent timeline. The author and illustrator are also careful to note that the book is based on press coverage and interviews, since no televised recordings exist. They admit that they have dramatized dialogue and the illustrations, but that they've worked very hard to re-create the race as accurately as possible. Photos of Toughie and Gerry are also included.

For those kids who want to know more about roller derby (which they definitely will after reading this book), the author provides further resources, including film clips, web sites and books.

Overall Book Score: excellent