dappercat

Fifteen-year-old Roller Deb lives in her trailer park home with her alcoholic mother and beauty pageant sister, Gennifer. When Gennifer is kidnapped by drug-dealer and troll prince Dave, it’s up to Deb to save her. With the help of the mysterious but good troll Harlow, Deb will take on the troll king Jarod McJagger himself. All too soon, though, Deb is entranced (literally) by the underground world of fairy drugs and roller derby. Harlow will have to unravel the prophecy and Deb will have to find her true power if either ever wishes to defeat the evil king and rescue Gennifer.

This book is, more than anything, a comedy. One of my favorite lines comes late in the book and is a perfect example of the kind of humor one can expect from Red Tash in her novel: “His voice boomed through the cavern like the MetaTron himself. (I saw a movie once, where the MetaTron was the voice of God. It’s either that, or a Transformer.)” The comedy is one of the few redeeming aspects of this otherwise mediocre novel. The characters are flat, uninteresting, and in some cases, are literal caricatures. (I’m looking at you, Madame Zelda, nomadic Eastern European fortuneteller princess.) The plot and world-building are underdeveloped and the prose is mediocre. I would recommend this book for younger teens or anyone looking for an easy, humorous read. (Or, roller derby fanatics!) If you’re looking for a great lesbian coming of age story or an interesting take on the Fae, go elsewhere.