- 3.75 stars -

Roller skating has always been a fantasy of mine. In my closet in a canvas tote is a pair of secondhand skates, waiting for their moment. However, my career as a musician relies on having hands that are fully operational, and I’m just too scared of getting injured to risk it right now. So, until then, I live vicariously through skate media. This book did nothing to improve my fantasies. I’m just waiting for my roller derby arc now, although I hope it goes smoother than Millie’s.

Millie Novak is definitely a mess! It was hard to read sometimes as I watched the choices she made, but the important thing was that all of those choices eventually met consequences that served them. One of the arcs was especially worrying as it progressed, especially from my perspective as a young adult, but the severity of it was duly addressed when the time came. Her insecurities and self-deprecating tendencies could also be grating at times (one insecure girl to another), but this aspect of her personality was also explained and something she took steps to combat once she was able to face where it came from. I think many of us have gotten used to perfect protagonists, so it almost feels wrong to read a character like Millie, but it shouldn’t. That’s what real people, especially real teenagers, can be like. That said, I was a Stork stan from the moment I met her in these pages. I also liked how this book addressed the difficulty that can come when a shared interest starts to fade, and the general topic of friends growing apart. We like to think friendships are forever, but sometimes we just have to take the times we had and cherish them without trying to sustain something that was meant to be temporal.

Anyway, I was super excited that I got a chance to read this and now I know way more about roller derby than the average person (you can ask my friends, who I rambled about the sport to unprompted a couple of days ago). Thank you to NetGalley and North Star Editions for allowing me to access an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review!

{3,5 stars}

Mighty Millie Novak was such a comforting and sweet read. It follows Millie's passion for roller derby and her struggles with making friends due to the fact that she is homeschooled.
I found that Millie was such a good written character. Her personality was complex, and the book showcased not only her good attributes, but her flaws too, which she overcomes slowly through the whole book. Millie was not the only good character written, though. I usually find it hard to discover books that have only complex characters, because, sadly, most of them have plain personalities. I can surely assure you that every single character, even the coaches, were so well-written I was actually surprised. This made me love every single one of them, even if some had more flaws than others.
I read this book in one sitting because it was so intriguing. It had funny moments that left me smiling and laughing at how well the characters were interacting with each other, such as:

"Sounds like fun."
"He rolled his eyes. " If you're angling for an invitation, Millie, Just say so."
"I'm angling for an invitation."
"Okay, fine, you can come."
I grinned. "Yesss."

And it also had bitter and eye-opening moments, that can make readers relate to Millie even more like:

"You try to be everything to everyone, because all you want is for people to like you."

The romance in this book was so pleasant, and it was so realistic I could see myself as Millie in every one of her anxiety-filled thoughts about relationships. I was glad that every aspect that might come of as uncomfortable related to some of the romance wasn't left unaddressed, and it was extremely interesting to read about relationships being challenged and questioned when it's obvious that the differences are too significant to ignore.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and also North Star Edition for giving me the opportunity to read this great book in advance!

My review is published on my Goodreads account, and I provided the link here.<3

Mighty Millie Novak is a contemporary novel that fills a gap in the YA market with its sporty, messy and very queer main character and its remarkably crafted plot. This very well-rounded book will appeal to young readers who like straight-forward (but not straight at all) and satisfying novels.

To preface this, I must admit that pure YA novels are not what I tend to read nowadays, since I prefer upper-YA or NA. That said, I really really liked how it reminded me of the books I read in middle school, where the characters don't like adults, where they're selfish and single-minded, but also willing to learn and grow.

This book reads like a movie montage of the character learning a new sport. It's insanely gratifying to read about Mighty's progress in her sport, the obstacles she encounters and how she learns to get over them. We learn more about the sport alongside her, and I never felt confused about the rules or the terms specific to roller derby. It even made me want to register for roller derby lessons!

I also really like the sense of community she finds at roller derby, that feeling where you know she found a place to belong among these girls. Queerness plays a part in this, and I was so happy to finally read a book about QUEER!! DERBY!! PLAYERS!! Please, just the sport itself is so queer-coded.

Mighty has a lot of flaws, and some of them are pretty annoying, but I liked how it was questioned at the end of the book. For a time, I was also quite scared of where the relationship was going, because that lie and the age gap made me pretty uncomfortable, but it's challenged and not left unaddressed, which suited me just fine. I also liked that Mighty's relationship with Pumpkin goes through the same process, because I think their age difference was just enlarging the cracks in their relationship. It's very interesting to read about relationships that are challenged and questioned when it's clear that the disagreements are too big to forget.

Finally, the romance was cute, although I won't say much about it to avoid spoilers. I don't think it's the focus of the book, it's more of a coming of age novel, but it was still very nice to read about, along with Mighty's journey and growth.

Thank you NetGalley and North Star Editions for giving me the chance to read this novel in advance in exchange for an honest review.

The Mighty Millie Novak excellently fills a derby-skate shaped hole in the YA genre! Author Elizabeth Holden is dually talented in both writing and roller derby—and both are made crystal clear in this book.

Millie, our anxiety-filled protagonist, explores her growing love for roller derby as she tries to get out of her shell, develops crushes and schemes for love, all while dealing with her parents’ divorce. In the process, she grows as both a person and a skater.

As a derby fiancé, I am familiar with roller derby and its rules, but I don’t skate myself. I loved how easy the book was to follow, and the clear depictions of how roller derby is played made this book a great read for anyone who isn’t familiar with roller derby.

For those who are familiar with roller derby, have friends who play, or anyone who skates themselves will be able to see and relate to the characters in this book. I saw the way my Derby fiancé (J. Jonah Jammerson of Demolition City) has talked about derby and being on a team reflected in Millie and her teammates throughout the book.

I’m so happy I had to opportunity to read this book, and I cannot wait to recommend it to skaters and non-skaters alike!

This is a sweet and well-crafted look at adolescence -- that first burst of real self-confidence that comes of finding something you love (to do, and about yourself); early crushes and the ill-advised things we do to get people to like us when we barely know them or ourselves; the ups and downs of intense friendship and first love. I read it in 2 days, would recommend to any teens and any adults who like to remember what it was like!

Thank you to Flux Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

MIGHTY MILLIE NOVAK was a sweet YA contemporary about 16-year-old Millie, an anxious roller derby player, and her struggles with her family, her friendships, and her relationships. I really enjoyed this story and loved getting to dive into the world of roller derby!

With her older brother off to college and her parents recently announcing their divorce, homeschooled Millie feels more alone than ever. Her only solace is her roller derby league, and her one friend on the team, Pumpkin. Things start to look up when Millie makes the junior roller derby team and catches the eye of a cute older girl, but when her white lies start to snowball out of control, Millie has to reassess her priorities and decide what truly matters to her.

The highlight of this novel for me was getting to learn all about roller derby! I totally related to Millie's anxieties about letting down her team and not being good enough for them. I also loved her relationships with the various side characters in the story (who all had such pun-derful roller derby names!). This was a fun read that I think would appeal to fans of HEARTSTOPPER or anyone looking for younger YA protagonists.