June 3, 2025 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
In this novel in verse, we meet Jaelyn, who lives with her mother in Indianapolis. The two have moved there from Plainfield after the parents divorced. Jaelyn and her friend Noelle love to spend time at the local roller rink, WestSide Roll, where they can be as loud and exuberant as they want. There's a colorful cast of characters, including the owner, Mr. Mike. The neighborhood is gentrifying, and Jaelyn has increasing problems with her job at the local movie theater, where the manager, Beth, is hostile towards her. There is also fear of rents increasing as more and more upscale businesses open. When the news comes that WestSide Roll is closing in five weeks, Jaelyn is devastated. This is especially hard since Noelle has started to hang out with different friends, and the one bright spot in her life is Trey, a boy she met at the rink and whom she is teaching to skate. Jaelyn has a difficult relationship with her father, who hasn't spent much time with her, but the two reconnect over their love of roller skating. After the rink closes, Jaelyn tries the nearby Avon Roller Rink, but is appalled by all of the rules. She loves her job at the theater, and Noelle's grandmother's health starts to fail. Desperate to find some joy in life, she tries to arrange a skating reunion at a nearby tennis court, or the parking lot of WestSide Roll, only to be told those locations aren't available. Will the skating community be able to band together for one last free skate?
Strengths: We recently took groups of middle school students to the Sequoia Lanes in Columbus, Ohio. It is a bowling alley built in the early 1960s smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood. If you stand at the front door and look across the street, there is a split level home right there. I was enthralled by the idea of having a local bowling alley, but also knew that the neighborhood had changed and that many other businesses had gone out, so the alley's days might well be numbered. A pool right next door closed a few years ago. The feeling of longing for a way of life that is gone was so palpable, and I completely understood how Jaelyn felt. The topic of gentrification has been addressed in many middle grade and young adult books, but this one packed a gut punch. The verse format makes it read quickly. It was definitely set in current times, given some of the references to music and popular culture, but also had a bit of a throwback feel to it, mainly because of the roller skating and the "old heads" who hang out. The romance was very sweet, and will appeal to readers even if they (foolishly) aren't interested in roller skating. This was quite a fun book, despite the sadness, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Weaknesses: This was definitely young adult in language (there are multiple f words) and also in the longing for the past. Middle School students generally aren't quite as nostalgic as high school students.
What I really think: Watson's This Side of Home (2015) or Nye's Going, Going (2005). I would buy this for a high school library but will pass for middle school.
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