Review!!!
Troll or Derby
by Red Tash
In Troll Or Derby, fifteen-year-old Roller Deb is singled out by town bullies for both her skates, and for being different. When her popular homecoming queen of a sister is kidnapped by a scuzzy drug dealer, Deb must flee the trailer park in which she’s grown up, and rescue her. Along the way, Deb becomes enmeshed in the magical realm of trolls and fairies, and the blood-thirsty version of roller derby at which these beings excel. But spending too much time among the fairies comes with a price. Will Deb choose to save her sister, with the aid of a mysterious troll? Or will she be lost to the lures of roller derby, and the blonde temptress April, forever?
My Review
This book was pretty cool. It was fun and quirky, and had a lot of interesting things going on. I thought the title and cover were cute. This book is full of fairy tale creatures from all different walks of life. Trolls, fairies, pixies, gnomes and lots of others make up this story. These creatures are nothing like we were raised to believe they are. At least, the fairies and pixies aren’t as sweet as we have been led to believe.
In this book, we learn about Deb, a girl who has had a rough life. She is different, in almost every imaginable way. Her mom is a jerk, her sister is a drug addict. No father to speak of. She is constantly responsible for her older sister Jennifer. After the explosion of a meth house with Jennifer inside, Deb finds herself rescuing Jen once again. While trying to figure out just what is going on, Jen is kidnapped by a local drug dealer who is really skanky.
As Deb tries to locate her sister and plan a rescue, she becomes entangled with all different kinds of creatures. She meets a Troll who is in love with her. He has been watching her for most of her life. He takes her to the flea market for fairy tale creatures and as she learns more and more about them, we find out just how important it is that she learns about them. We also learn why she is so willing to accept all of this strangeness. Most people would probably flip out if they met a troll and insane fairies and such.
The story of why Jen was kidnapped is somewhat lame, to me, but believe or not, that really doesn’t take away from the story overall. There is enough going on within this story to make up for any small issues, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
I feel bad for the Harlow the troll. He really seems like a sweet “guy” who could just use a little love in his life. He obviously does the best he can with what he’s got and has been crapped on by the people he cares about way too many times. You can see the humanity in him even through his tough exterior. He deeply cares for Deb and you can tell. He risks everything to save her regardless of the fact that he doesn’t know how she feels about him or what the outcome of their adventure will be. And who knew trolls were amazing musicians? I sure didn’t!
I really came to hate her mom and sister. The way they treated her was appalling and the reasons why were pathetic and selfish. I really think they would deserve anything bad that were to happen to them.
As a former derby girl myself, I was a little bit disappointed in how much roller derby was actually in this book. With the title as it is, I expected much more derby when in reality it is really only mentioned a few times. Practice is discussed, and a game or two, but really not nearly as much as I had hoped. What derby was in the book was well written and accurate for the most part, and Tash did a good job of explaining the sport in an understandable way. Her inclusion of Derby Wives, made me laugh, because I know all about that. The bloodthirsty nature of the fairies who play in this book makes roller derby even more exciting. Not that derby girls aren’t a bloodthirsty bunch to begin with, but I’ve got to say, I think a human would notice just how much more brutal they seem to be, and I think after a little while word would spread and no one would want to play with them anymore.
I liked the ending for the most part. For me it got a little bit confusing as to what exactly was going on, but I got enough of the gist of it to what was happening and the outcome. So be sure to pay attention. There were some unexpected developments which gave the story a little bit of something extra and set it up for more books.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quickish and fun read. There are drugs, and some sexual references, but it’s not romantic, if that makes any sense. There is also quite a bit of violence. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll are main themes in this book and makes it a very enjoyable read.
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All About Red
Red Tash is a journalist-turned-novelist of dark fantasy for readers of all ages. Monsters, SciFi, wizards, trolls, fairies, and roller derby lightly sautéed in a Southern/Midwestern sauce hand-canned from her mama’s recipes await you in her pantry of readerly delights. Y’all come, anytime.
Contact Red
**DISCLAIMER** In full compliance with FTC Guidelines, I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was in no way compensated for this opinion, and the thoughts are my own. Links above will take you to a site where you can PURCHASE a copy. Using those links will take you through an affiliate link and I will receive a small percentage of the purchase cost. You are in no way obligated to use affiliate links and there is no additional cost to do so.
