Dorothy's Derby Chronicles: Woe of Jade Doe

by Meghan Dougherty, Alece Birnbach

When times get tough, just keep skating…

Ever since Dorothy joined the Slugs & Hisses Derby team, her life has been one adventure after another. Dorothy’s onetime enemy Alex is now a friend, while her friend Jade keeps missing practices. Then the skating rink shuts down, and Dorothy’s life becomes as jumbled as a derby jam. And that’s not to mention the bizarre things happening to anyone who enters the rink (maybe it’s haunted?)…

Can Dorothy restore order to the new life she’s finally settling into, or will her world become a crazy mess she can’t skate away from?

Genres: Middle Grade

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2015

Reviews

[Gaele]

Perfect for your middle-grade reader, the Dorothy’s Derby Chronicles are packed with action, friendships, drama and plenty of fun. A falling disco ball at that roller rink puts everyone in danger, and the mystery is on. And just why is Jade now missing practice?

Cute and clever, the story uses the backdrop of the roller rink for action and a mystery: with questions galore: could there be a ghost? Bits of the story reminded me of the circles and red herrings thrown up during a Scooby Doo episode, and were quite fun to read. With the friendship dynamics ever-changing we see ‘enemies’ becoming friends as they are learning compromise and negotiation, teamwork and a little bit about themselves.

A bit longwinded and rambly in parts, an age appropriate reader shouldn’t find issue with those stutters in story progression, but overall I found the premise cute with age appropriate action and dramas.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

[MGaby P-M]

I didn't really enjoy it much. the plot was alright. I somewhat like the characters, but didn't really enjoy the way the story was written. it felt as though it was taking to long for everything. Dorothy and her mishaps were a bit funny and I liked that the end was a bit of a plot twist, but I'm not sure it's enough.

Overall, I found the story interesting, but the book in general was somewhat lacking.

I want to let it be known that I'm not a child though. maybe a child would find it more complex? after all that is the target audience.
I have read plenty of children books that I loved. this is not one of them.

[Barbara White]

I haven't had the pleasure of reading Book One of this series, so I appreciated the introduction which helped me understand the history of the story.

Dorothy and her grandmother are great characters. I enjoyed the plot, the ease of reading the story, the flow, and how easily I felt these ladies were easy to know.

If anyone doesn't know about roller derby when reading Dorothy's Derby Chronicles, these books are a great jumping off point to learn more. An author study would also be a great class assignment.

Thanks to Goodreads Firstreads for a copy of Woe of Jade Roe.

My students would enjoy this read. I look forward to more.

[Amber]

I won this book through Goodreads Giveaways!

This book was ok. My favorite part is that it's about roller derby, and the characters were cute. The story was a little far-fetched in my opinion (i.e. Ghost), but may be just right for a middle school gal looking for an easy read.