78 pages 2 hours read

Roller Girl

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

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Introduction

Roller Girl

  • Genre: Fiction; middle grade graphic novel
  • Originally Published: 2015
  • Reading Level/Interest: Lexile GN440L; grades 4-8
  • Structure/Length: 16 chapters; approx. 240 pages; approx. 2 hours, 19 minutes on audio
  • Protagonist and Central Conflict: Inspired by a night at the roller derby, 12-year-old Astrid signs up for a girls’ Junior Roller Derby Camp, assuming best friend Nicole will attend with her; when Nicole decides on dance camp instead, Astrid must learn strength and perseverance on her own.

Victoria Jamieson, Author

  • Bio: Born and lives in Pennsylvania; attended the Rhode Island School of Design; once played on a roller derby team in Portland, Oregon
  • Other Works: All’s Faire in Middle School (2017); When Stars Are Scattered (with Omar Mohamed; 2020)
  • Awards: Newbery Honor Award (2016), YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (2016); ALA Notable Children's Book (2016)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

  • Embracing Fear
  • Opportunity Born of Loss and Failure
  • The Importance of Friendship in Identity Formation

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

  • Develop an understanding of roller derby and how it serves to empower its participants in order to more effectively discuss and analyze protagonist Astrid’s coming-of-age.
  • Create a comic and/or dramatic skit that shares the novel’s theme of Opportunity Born of Loss and Failure.

Related Titles

By Victoria Jamieson

Plot Summary

logo

All's Faire in Middle School

Victoria Jamieson

All's Faire in Middle School

Victoria Jamieson

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

When Stars Are Scattered

Omar Mohamed, Victoria Jamieson

When Stars Are Scattered

Omar Mohamed, Victoria Jamieson