Roller Girl

Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 2015

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Themes

Embracing Fear

Embracing fears and learning to overcome them is one of the central themes in Roller Girl. The graphic novel’s protagonist, Astrid, begins the story and the summer as a sensitive, angry, and insecure person. She depends heavily on her best friend Nicole and her mother and feels lost without them. In fact, when she was younger, Astrid always imagined she “was Venus, Mom was Mercury, and Nicole was earth. [She would] make up stories about [them] floating around the solar system together. [They]’d visit other galaxies and meet extraterrestrials” (176). Now, everything is changing as Nicole decides against roller derby camp, and Astrid must attend alone. When she walks into the roller rink on the first day of camp, she begins a long process of confronting and overcoming her fears of being alone, failure, and the unknown.

Astrid finds roller derby much more intimidating than she expected, and she feels like giving up after a couple of weeks of exhausting drills and feeling as though she is not improving. It turns out she is improving though, and she finally realizes this one day when she goes down a hill too fast and falls into a bush. Astrid emerges unscathed and unafraid, feeling like a fierce woman who just “looked danger straight in the eye…And survived” (84). One of the girls comments that Astrid resembled Evel Knievel going down the hill, and Zoey says she looked like Rainbow Bite. When Astrid experiences the thrill of risk and overcoming the intimidation of life, she wants to experience it more and puts her heart into roller derby from then on.

Rainbow Bite, Astrid’s hero and the woman who inspired Astrid to try roller derby, leaves Astrid a note that holds powerful advice: “Repeat after me. Tougher. Stronger. Fearless” (93). Astrid holds the note against her chest and takes it in, vowing to herself to live by those words. Whenever Astrid feels afraid or unsure, such as when she goes to invite Nicole and Rachel to the bout, she remembers those words, and it allows her to feel stronger and more confident. In this moment, she realizes, “I could keep running from my battles and live in fear…or I could embrace the fear” (202). Astrid understands she does not need to be controlled by doubt anymore, and she becomes much happier and a truer version of herself as a result.

Astrid also faces her fear of growing up with the help of Zoey, her mother, and roller derby. Initially, Astrid is resistant to the idea of growing up, fearing what it might be like. She shows this through verbal outbursts and emotional tantrums that land her in more grief than she was in to begin with. As the summer progresses though, Astrid learns that growing up means she gets to become more herself, more open, more in control, and more independent. She likes this new version of herself, and embraces it with her new name, Asteroid.

Opportunity Borne of Loss and Failure

Roller Girl centers on the theme of opportunity that is born out of loss and failure. Astrid starts her narrative by immediately implying she is going to lose an important friendship with Nicole and goes on to explain the story of how that happened. Thus, her entire summer is framed by the loss of her long-time and only friend in elementary school, which occurs alongside the loss of her childhood as she enters puberty and junior high. These losses shape the opportunities and growth Astrid experiences over the summer, although she is resistant to it at first.

When Astrid loses Nicole as Nicole changes and becomes more interested in hanging out with Rachel instead, Astrid gains a new friend in Zoey, who supports her through the process of this loss. Zoey likes Astrid for who she is, and the two of them share an interest in roller derby. Zoey encourages Astrid to be bold and dye her hair and to be honest with Nicole about how she feels. She also and helps Astrid learn how to skate, hit, and block. She is patient with Astrid and does not judge her for being afraid at first. Astrid grows into a better person in the company of Zoey, and Astrid also learns about herself and what it means to be fierce and strong. “Zoey was so friendly and popular—why did she want to hang out with me?” (100), Astrid wonders the first time Zoey invites her over. Before long, though, Astrid prefers Zoey’s company over Nicole’s and even rejects Nicole’s invitation to go to dinner after the bout in favor of going out with Zoey’s family instead.

Astrid is acutely aware of the fact that she is growing up and quickly losing her childhood. Nicole and her mother are always talking about junior high and growing up. When Nicole explains why she is hanging out with Rachel, she says it’s because “[w]e’re going to junior high—we should make some new friends” (186). Astrid is heavily against these changes at first, groaning when her mother mentions deodorant, abhorring shopping for clothes, and finding it very strange when Nicole begins hanging out with boys. However, by the end of the summer, Astrid has become more independent and a better friend at the same time. Furthermore, she saw herself persist through the challenges that roller derby presented, and she survives to see the other side of it. She started her summer dreading the future and the idea of becoming independent and tough. Now, Astrid sits upright, dresses boldly, smiles more often, and, most importantly, knows who she is: a roller girl.

The Importance of Friendship in Identity Formation

The dichotomy between Astrid and Nicole, which divides their friendship and ultimately results in distance developing, serves as a major source of Astrid’s growth and the formation of her identity. When Astrid’s summer begins, she sees herself as Venus, orbiting the sun with her mother, Mercury, and Nicole, Earth. She views the three of them as an inseparable unit, moving from place to place and exploring the universe together. In this way, Astrid’s identity is largely built around her friendship with Nicole. Nicole is her only real friend at the time, and Astrid depends on Nicole for support and strength. Without Nicole, Astrid feels lost.

When Nicole goes to dance camp instead of roller derby camp, Astrid already feels like she is losing her. Nicole seems to be more interested in hanging out with Rachel and admits this openly when Astrid shows up at her house one day: “She likes the same things I do. Like ballet, and dance. And I can talk to her about boys…and she doesn’t act weird about it” (186). Interests shape the friends Nicole and Astrid have during this time of their lives, and Nicole seems to understand that more clearly than Astrid does. However, when Astrid develops a bond with Zoey, a girl at roller derby, she is slowly able to let go of Nicole and embrace her new life and friends instead.

Zoey pushes Astrid to exhibit a side of herself she did not know existed. Nicole sees Astrid as selfish because she does not take any interest in Nicole’s hobbies. Astrid at first disagrees with this, but when Zoey is hurt that Astrid is not happy for her making jammer, Astrid realizes there is truth to this problem. Zoey is honest and tells Astrid, “You could be happy for me. I would have been happy for you, you know” (158). Astrid begins to work on herself and performs a grand gesture for Zoey to let her know how much she cares about Zoey’s interests. At the bout, she hands out popsicle sticks with Hugh Jackman’s (Zoey’s favorite actor) face on them. She asks the crowd to use them as masks at half-time, and Zoey finds this endearing and encouraging. Furthermore, when Zoey is nervous about the game, Astrid comforts her, illustrating that she is maturing and becoming a better, more empathetic friend. As Astrid learns what it means to be a good friend and begins acting as such, she becomes more confident and self-assured as well.