Blood City Rollers

by V.P. Anderson, Tatiana Hill (Illustrator)

Overview

Skates on. Fangs out. Let’s roll. This perfectly paranormal graphic novel about a 13-year-old ice skater who embraces the dark side and finds her light when she joins a vampire roller derby team is to die for.

Ice-skater Mina is on a one-track path to Olympic gold and glory—that is, until she totally wipes out at her biggest competition, and is kinda-sorta-kidnapped by undead kids on roller skates. Sucked into the high stakes world of Paranormal Roller Derby, she finds herself "recruited" by a squad of vampires who need a human player to complete their team—just in time to save the league from losing it all.

Between learning to play derby well enough to kick butt on the track, crushing hard on the dreamy team captain, and navigating the spooky rules of the supernatural, how can Mina go from striving to be a ten alone, to becoming one of nine chaotic bodies forming a perfectly-imperfect team? Forget being the best. Will she be enough to help her new friends survive the season?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593485712
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	04/09/2024
Series:	Blood City Rollers , #1
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	60,080
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Veronica Park (VP) Anderson (she/they) is a neurodivergent, queer, feminist millennial writer with a resume that Victor Frankenstein would disown for being “a bit much.” V’s previous job titles include: award-winning community theater actor, professional lecturer on cruise ships, indie film producer, literary agent, and creative project manager; however, “writer” is the title that always fits. V plays competitive flat track roller derby as “Scarlet Five” #55 and prefers the pivot role, aka “surprise jamming.” Born in Alaska and raised in Oregon, she currently lives with her partner in Upstate NY and has two cats named Skeletor and Bo-Catan.

Tatiana Hill (she/her) is a Black and Latina illustrator by day and roller skater by night. Her art journey began alongside her love for anime in the early 2000s and culminated with a BA in Animation. Receiving awards for Best Art Direction, she would later apply her skill set in color and design to illustration. Born in Los Angeles and a member of the roller skate community there, Tatiana enjoys participating in a space that celebrates diversity, identity, and found family. She illustrated The Roller World Tarot deck and Blood City Rollers, her debut graphic novel as an illustrator.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/29/2024

Thirteen-year-old figure skater Mina Murray’s dreams of one day winning Olympic gold are forfeit when an ill-timed fall on the ice ends her career before it even begins. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for Mina, she uncovers an alternate route to athletic fame when a roving gang of young roller derby vampires called Blood City Vamps kidnap her to join their team as a last-minute jammer against the Mavens. Training with the Vamps—especially their bold, brave captain Val Halla—reinvigorates Mina’s love for skating, but when a strange creature from Val’s past puts Mina’s life at risk, Mina must choose her own path: return to her regular life or face unknown dangers and remain with her new companions on the Paranormal Roller Derby track. In this high-octane double graphic novel debut, Anderson expertly captures the supernatural complications of tossing a human into a creature feature rivalry and the struggles of finding one’s place in the world. Hill’s lively illustrations, rendered in bright, eerie neon, winningly encapsulate the frenetic pace of derby, striking a refreshing balance between spectral sports romp and queer found family narrative. Characters are portrayed with varying skin tones. Ages 8–12. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

★ "In this high-octane double graphic novel debut, Anderson expertly captures the supernatural complications of tossing a human into a creature feature rivalry and the struggles of finding one’s place in the world....a refreshing balance between spectral sports romp and queer found family narrative." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Relatable and sweet." —Booklist

"This hybrid-genre graphic novel rolls by on raucous wheels, its anarchic and camp tone perfectly suiting Mina’s coming-into-herself as a rebel in the queer community of paranormal-derby....Defiant and joyful." —The Bulletin

"An entertaining story about a teen finding her own place in life and starting down her own path. Recommended where paranormal graphic novels are popular." —School Library Journal

"Dialogue is snappy and fun, and their comedic timing is on point. Paired with Tatiana Hill’s highly-saturated, action-packed, meme-referencing illustrations, the pages of Blood City Rollers feel alive. Or perhaps, given the subject matter, undead?….a delightful, queer, middle-grade romp about doing what you love and finding your people.”
— The Beat

From the Publisher

04/01/2024

Gr 7–10—Thirteen-year-old Mina Murray dreams of becoming an Olympic figure skater. After she lands a quadruple axel in competition, she suffers a bad fall, ruining the performance and breaking her arm—her Olympic dreams dashed. While waiting for her ride, Mina is abducted and swiftly introduced to the world of the Paranormal Roller Derby (PRD). The Vamps need a new jammer (a position that must be filled by a human), and they offer Mina a deal: if she agrees to join their team, they will heal her arm. As Mina learns the ins and outs of the PRD, she also gets to know her teammates and makes personal breakthroughs as well. Mina's lack of understanding of the paranormal world is reflected by the limited worldbuilding. However, rules and roles of the PRD are clearly defined and easy to follow, and the team members are introduced with pronouns included. The full-color artwork makes it easy to follow the chaos of the derby with clearly distinguishable teams. VERDICT An entertaining story about a teen finding her own place in life and starting down her own path. Recommended where paranormal graphic novels are popular.—Lisa Rowland

School Library Journal