On to the whole reason for this post, Shauna Cross’ book Derby Girl.  Friday I was working on our most current inactives list for teen fiction.  For nonlibrarians, inactives lists give you titles of items that have not been checked out for a specific amount of time, in my case, one year.  Guess what showed up on my inactives list?  That’s right, Derby Girl.  I honestly can’t say I was too surprised.  I had seen it languishing on the shelf but the cover is bright and eye-catching so I left it there just in case but now here’s the proof that maybe it should be weeded; it hadn’t circulated April 2008.  I was ready to weed it but with my new found love of roller derby I had to at least read the description first and, color me surprised when, what do you know, Derby Girl is Whip It!  This book that has already been weeded at a majority of branches across our library system is the source of the movie that has recently inspired a new bout of fangirldom in me.  Doret let me know that the book is being released in paperback by Macmillan this fall.  Macmillan’s description taught me that Derby Girl was a YALSA BBYA and Quick Pick as well as a NYPL Book for the Teen Age.  Why is this book on my inactives list?  Why was it on inactives lists across the 40 some branches of my library system?

Now that I’ve gotten this far, I should probably tell you what the book (and movie) is about, if you don’t know already, so you can help me ponder these questions.  Derby Girl stars Bliss Cavendar, an indie-rock chick who is stuck in small town Texas, obviously not a good match.  Trying to find her place in the world, she learns about and falls in love with roller derby and joins a team.  Bliss has the very typical teen problems with her too-traditional parents, friendships, boys, and identity.  To me, this sounds like it would be a decently popular book.  Again, my question: why is this on my inactives list?  It’s not that old!  Is it the cover, which isn’t my favorite but isn’t horrible?  Is it because people (i.e. teens) don’t know about roller derby?  Is it because they see skates and think “lame,” though I know some teens who are still avid skaters?  Or is it just one of those things?

Bottom line, I checked my branch’s copy out because I wanted to read it and save it from being sold at a Friend’s sale just yet.  I’m going to suggest that other teen librarians in our system to keep their copies at least until after the movie comes out because there might be a popularity surge depending on how well-received the movie is.  I will continue to ponder the “why isn’t this book being checked out but that piece of crap book over there goes out all time time” question.  And I will  remain a roller derby fangirl.

Nine-year-old Bruno must leave his comfortable home in Berlin that has five floor and a banister for sliding down and his three best friends for life and his grandparents to live in a desolate countryside where there are no children to play with.  He must do this because his father has a very important job.  Bruno can see many children, and adults for that matter, out his window but they all live on the other side of the fence.  Bruno thinks there must be another town beyond that fence but doesn’t understand why they are there and he is here and they can’t mingle.  One day when exploring, because Bruno wants to be an explorer when he grows up, he meets Shmuel, a boy with his exact same birthday who lives behind the fence.  Bruno wonders why Shmuel is so skinny and has grey skin and is always hungry and scared and sad and why Shmuel and the others behind the fence all wear pajamas.  What is the secret behind the people who live behind the fence and Bruno’s father’s important job?

Reaction: I really liked the concept and I even liked the author’s writing style but I found the book flawed.  First, the biggest problem was Bruno’s totally naivete.  He’s nine and probably ten by the end of the book.  In reality, he would have understood much more about what was going on.  In the book, Bruno knew nothing and understood nothing which seems entirely impossible considering his father was supposedly running Auschwitz.  He didn’t understand what Jews were and why they were different; he didn’t know the difference between the star sash and the swastika sash but thought he would rather wear the star; he didn’t even know he had moved from Germany to Poland.  Sheesh.  In the end, Bruno’s total lack of understanding for what was going on around him somehow made the story less emotional for me.  My other pet-peeve was with some of the language used.  For example, Bruno and his sister called their new home Out With — play on words with Auschwitz.  BUT Bruno speaks German and “out with” in German is not Auschwitz or even close to it.  Bugged the crap out of me.  There were other similar incidents where a play on words didn’t quite add up.  I pretty much agree with everything Ralph Blumenau said in his review on Amazon.  I may still use it in my booktalks because I did really enjoy Boyne’s writing.  For example, “out of bounds at all times and no exceptions” being used every time his father’s office was mentioned and the subtleties of what was happening with the other characters in the background — did I imagine that Bruno’s mother had an affair with Lt. Kotler?

What’s next: A movie!  And it looks more fleshed out and million times sadder than the book.  Here’s the trailer:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3I7fdJkutI]