Thirteen-year-old Mina's dreams of Olympic glory are dashed when she crashes to the ice during a figure skating competition and breaks her arm. Overcome with emotion and pain, Mina waits in the emergency room to learn her fate while her self-involved mother freaks out about her daughter's lost chances at Olympic gold. Two representatives from PRD, the Paranormal Roller Derby, are hiding in the wings and witness this scenario. They kidnap Mina and whisk her away to a secret lair for vampire roller derby. In doing so, they provide her with a safe space to heal and learn more about herself.
It turns out that the Paranormal Roller Derby league requires humans to round out the teams. Human figure skaters make excellent "jammers," or players who score points for their team by passing blockers. They have unique skills and a training mindset that proves beneficial when competing against vamps, fairies, witches and other paranormal creatures. And where does all of this take place? Why, in an abandoned shopping mall!
Team building and camaraderie between the human Mina and her new vamp teammates is rocky to start but more developed towards the end. Mina can do what she loves by skating and unintentionally finds "her people" where she least expects to. The ending is poised for a second book in the series with the final words, "To be continued."
Entertaining, colorful, and just the right amount of paranormal fun. For fans of the Lumberjanes, Sophie Escabasse's Witches of Brooklyn series, and Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson. Available as a graphic novel from Madison Public Library or from OverDrive/Libby as an eBook.