e-ALC, 10:00:16
Narrated by: Bailey Carr
Release Date: November 18, 2025
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: November 23-24, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio (I received this ALC free from the publisher and Netgalley. I also received a hardcover copy of this from the publisher that I used to immersive read. This did nothing to influence my review!)
Content Warning: Panic Attacks/Disorders, Death of a Parent, Fire/Fire Injury, Mental Illness, Medical Content, Medical Trauma, Suicide
For Readers Interested In: 2sLGBTQ+, Audio, Contemporary, Physical Disability (Fire Scar, Surgery Scar), Realistic Fiction, Romance, Sports (Roller Derby), YAFrom Reese’s Book Club LitUp Fellow Margot Fisher, a moving debut about healing, self-acceptance, and queer first love set on a roller derby team
Morgan “Moose” Shaker barely survived the fire that killed her fathers in their beloved roller rink in small-town Utah. Now she has to move to Portland to live with her much older half-sister, Eden. Eden’s doing her best, but she’s hardly ready to be a parent to a sixteen-year-old she hasn’t seen in years. Plus barely-out-of-the-closet Moose worries that she’s not ready for super-affirming, rainbow-flags-everywhere Portland. Her anxiety and frustration are at peak levels.
Fortunately, Moose finds an outlet for her emotions and a surprising group of friends in roller derby. Her teammates help her grieve her dads and confront her queer imposter syndrome. And even though it’s against league rules, she might be falling for a teammate.
Heartfelt, funny, and romantic, this debut will make you want to lace up your skates, pull on your pads, and hit the track.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I was not expecting to love this as much as I did. As someone who loves sports books its no surprise that this book has landed on my favorites list. It was so good! And for so many reasons! I hope y’all pick this up. Not only was it fun, but it was also emotional and raw and real!
Ok so what I didn’t like about this was the main character. Why? I don’t feel like she had any accountability throughout the whole book. She kept doing all these things and I don’t feel like she was done grieving. And that kept landing her in trouble in different ways. It normally wouldn’t bother me, but she didn’t even admit what she did was wrong to her therapist. Literally no one told her, “Hey, that was some bull shit.” It made me wonder if I was finally feeling too old for YA, but I spoke with some others who also said the same. It was just weird to me.
The roller derby scenes were so amazing! I knew little to nothing about it, so getting the chance to learn about it was cool. I found myself Googling a bit just to get the basics more, which also turned into me watching a game or two. It seemed a lot more violent than I thought, but I actually loved hearing about the athleticism these girls needed. And I could also tell Margot Fisher was/is a derby player. The descriptions, the names, the information, just everything! It really made this book for me. I love sports books that actually seem like sports books.
The romance was cute, but she was hanging on too much to her. But this I attributed to her being/feeling alone after everything. She wasn’t ready to be in a relationship and I felt like she was just dragging that girl along while she did stuff. But she treated her ok for the most part and I really enjoyed their chemistry, but it I still didn’t love it. But when it finally clicked for them and finally felt real, I can say that it really worked for them.
The plot and writing style were also so good! I genuinely loved reading this book and learning more about roller derby and seeing the way Moose grew and learned as she went along. She had some growing up to do, but for the most part she was an ok character. I loved that her sister also showed up for her too. From family to romance, to sports, this book was so much fun to read. I hope y’all pick it up!
Overall, I give this
