Oh young adult books. I saw the movie Whip It (starring Ellen Paige, produced by Drew Barrymore) and I really enjoyed it. It’s one of those feel good, root for the main character movies. Not quality, just happy and fun sort of like Bring It On but less cheezy. (I’ve always been slightly interested in Roller Derby, ever since that show Rollergirls, so it was exciting.) Anyway, the movie inspired me to read the book.
Whip It is about Bliss Cavendar, a teenager growing up in Bodeen, Texas. Basically, she lives in the middle of nowhere and her social life consists of working at the Oink Joint with her best friend and competing in beauty pageants thanks to her pushy mother. But then she is introduced to Roller Derby and a whole new world of excitement and fun is opened up for her. She’s found something she’s passionate about and good at. Only a couple problems: you have to be eighteen to play and the big game is on the same day as an important pageant.
Shauna Cross captures the tone of a teenager perfectly (she says in a Q & A at the back of the book that it’s just the way she speaks which might be a little sad), which makes it slightly tougher for me to get through than the other Young Adult books I’ve been reading. That whiny, annoyed tone is tiresome at times. But the derby stuff is interesting and so underexposed.
The movie is better than the book, but both are fun ways to spend your time.
Read the book: Whip It
A more adult version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe this story revolves around four siblings of the royal family who are separated when their father is murdered. They grow up in separate worlds but unite once again to reclaim their rule. And much more.
Durham’s world is fully imagined and rich in detail. Each character has their own distinct story, goals, motivation, personality…The characters are each sympathetic in their own ways, though occasionally the urge to smack the oldest sister arises. The degree of detail is quite impressive. There is everything from plotting to betrayal to love to hate to ancient magic and mythology, among other things. I don’t know that I could come up with something so thought out.
What food should you eat at the carnival? What seat is the best seat on a rollercoaster? How can you make the log flume make a bigger splash? What are the danger signs for rides? Are games fixed (or gaffed, as it is called in the amusement park/carnival/fair world)? Find out the answers to these and so many more mysteries of the carnival.
