Daya is a recently orphaned teenager whose parents died in a car accident. Daya feels like the accident was her fault–she was a boxer and her father drilled her to be “hard,” her mother (more of a “that which yields is not always weak” personality, I kept thinking of Kushiel’s Dart while reading this) came to the match and Daya pulled her punches, parents starting yelling in the car…. Well, you know, that would give you a complex for sure.
Daya’s now living with her uncle and aunt, Priam and Vicki, who are ADORABLE theater dorks. However, Daya got raised by her dad to be a hardass jock, and even though Daya’s quit boxing, she still kind of has “that stuff’s weak” going on in her brain. Also, she enjoys–on some level–getting bruised up and injured these days. So she’s doing skateboarding, and then is introduced to roller derby, which is exactly the sort of thing she’s looking for. There’s also fun moments in the book, as it sounds like a fun and crazy sport (and relates to theater), and there’s older ladies that are into roller derby, etc.
Daya admires Kat, the hardass team captain, but is attracted to her sister Shanti. Shanti is definitely a “that which yields is not always weak” personality and Daya respects that, even if she has her own issues on the topic (the book has a lot of flashbacks to her home situation pre-accident). I respect Shanti, she may be quiet but she’s firm and reasonable. Kat seems to scorn her for being “soft” (this is uncomfortable to read), but the dynamic between the sisters does relate to Daya’s inner conflicts. By the time Daya starts facing her inner demons and talking to people about her feelings, I was very touched.
Four stars.
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