Kenzie Kickstarts a Team by Kit Rosewater

However, it’s Laura Dean’s behavior-not her identity-that is the dysfunction, and it’s important that queer teens are shown what an unhealthy queer relationship could look and feel like. Because of traditional tropes about predatory or mentally unstable lesbian characters, there is a bit of a taboo in showing an openly lesbian character being a manipulative romantic partner. It’s rare to see toxic romantic relationships addressed in books for teens at all-particularly in a queer relationship. If it has nothing to do with Laura Dean, will Freddy even notice? As Freddy devotes more and more attention to Laura Dean’s whims, her friend Doodle slides further and further out of focus into a crisis of her own. It’s gotten to the point that Freddy has turned to writing to an advice columnist who for all she knows doesn’t even answer lesbian questions (though that would make her homophobic, obviously). Laura Dean is all Freddy can focus on, but her friends are getting sick of trying to support her through each dramatic twist of this dysfunctional relationship.

Her hot, popular girlfriend keeps breaking up with her. Illustrated by Rosemary Valero- O’Connell.

Great for fans of highly-illustrated series like Clementine or The Major Eights who’ve outgrown these titles and are looking for the next step up, as well as readers who loved Victoria Jamieson’s Roller Girl. Kenzie and Shelly present as white, as does one other member of their team (Jules) Bree is Black and Tomoko is Asian.Īll told, Rosewater’s debut is a solid one, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for this series. Kenzie’s struggles with friendships, first crushes, and team dynamics will feel familiar to pretty much any reader over the age of 8. The first book in author Kit Rosewater’s new series about the roller derby Daredevils, Kenzie Kickstarts a Team releases in March and is an absolute delight from start to finish. But as Shelly bonds with the new team members, Kenzie starts to feel the dynamic duo has been threatened – and things only get worse when Shelly recruits Bree, Kenzie’s super-cute neighbor and crush. So when Austin’s city league announces a brand-new junior league, the dynamic duo is ready! There’s only one problem: In order to guarantee they’ll skate on the same team, they’ll have to find three more girls to try out with – in a week. ARC.įifth graders Kenzie (aka Kenzilla) and her best friend Shelly (aka Bomb Shell) have dreamed of roller derby superstardom for years.

Kenzie Kickstarts a Team by Kit Rosewater