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Bruised

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Bruised

Written by: Tanya Boteju
Narrated by: Angel Pean
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About this listen

Whip It meets We Are Okay in this vibrant coming-of-age story about a teen girl navigating first love, identity, and grief as she immerses herself in the colorful, brutal, beautiful world of roller derby - from the acclaimed author of Kings, Queens, and in-Betweens.

To Daya Wijesinghe, a bruise is a mixture of comfort and control. Since her parents died in an accident she survived, bruises have become a way to keep her pain on the surface of her skin so she doesn't need to deal with the ache deep in her heart.

So when chance and circumstances bring her to a roller-derby bout, Daya is hooked. Yes, the rules are confusing and the sport seems to require the kind of teamwork and human interaction Daya generally avoids. But the opportunities to bruise are countless, and Daya realizes that if she's going to keep her emotional pain at bay, she'll need all the opportunities she can get.

The deeper Daya immerses herself into the world of roller derby, though, the more she realizes it's not the simple physical pain-fest she was hoping for. Her rough-and-tumble teammates and their fans push her limits in ways she never imagined, bringing Daya to big truths about love, loss, strength, and healing.

©2021 Tanya Boteju (P)2022 Tantor
Depression & Mental Health Difficult Situations Literature & Fiction Young Adult Royalty Heartfelt
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Relatable and Profound

I thought Boteju's first novel was a literary masterpiece - but this is next level awesome. The poeticism of her prose and the realness of her character development takes on new depths in this story about grief, growing pains, trauma, new love, self-harm, queer joy and femme power. There is a level of emotional complexity and groundless that is not easily accomplished, as well as something very real and transformative in how she tackles (pun intended) the issue of self harm and then weaves this into the world of roller derby. What I appreciated most, however, is how she queers popular (read white) linear narratives of parental grief to reflect the complex truths of Brown children and young adults (and to a lesser degree, those of white biracial POC). If Boteju's last book was a literary masterpiece, than this one is literary perfection.

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