3.75. So, Mighty Millie Novak, is a fun book about friendship, finding your place and yourself when your life is falling apart, and, of course, roller derby. I say of course because of the cover. I really looked at this book. It only took me some time to read it, because I was stuck in a reading slump for more than a month (damn you university).

In this book, we follow Millie, a homeschooled high-school student, whose parents are divorcing, her brother just left for college, and she feels so alone. But she has a chance to reinvent herself when she enters a derby league. Also, she finds a crush, and she lies, but lying is not always the best idea.

This is a cute and fun story, the characters are mostly realistic, and they have character growth. But, are teenagers really this messy? No, because sometimes I wanted to shake them out of their dumbness. Also, I LOVED Stork and Gablles, the best characters in the whole novel.

Friendship, love, family, drama, laughter… An emotionally packed story, that I will recommend.

The characters in this book are written wonderfully! Everyone is a realistic person with flaws, and dreams, and they're all capable of hurting or healing one another. I appreciated that realism aspect of the book a lot. The main character herself, Mighty, makes lots of mistakes and doesn't always trust herself. She's very flawed, but you find yourself rooting for her anyway, and it's great to watch her grow and find her confidence. The dyanmics between Mighty and Pumpkin are also so well done. I think most people at some point in their life have a friendship that is complicated in a similar way. The book also did a good job teaching me about roller derby. I had only a vague idea that people skated and pushed each other, but now I know a bit more I didn't before and it was fun to learn about. Overall enjoyed reading this one, 5/5 stars!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though I didn't understand anything about roller derby at the start, the author was really good at explaining it in a way I could understand and I felt like I could properly understand what was going on during their matches by the end. I loved getting to follow Millie's journey of becoming more comfortable and confident in herself. I really loved the way Millie grew to be able to express herself better especially in her communication with her parents and her drive to improve. I love Stork too! I think she was a great character and definitely my favourite throughout the book. I highly recommend this book and feel that it is one that I will definitely be re-reading in the future!

Rep: Millie (MC) is described as cis, white, and pansexual (though the label isn't explicitly mentioned, it's hinted at in the text), and she's also chubby. Until the author states otherwise, this is how I'll refer to her. There are also side characters who are cis, white, and sapphic, as well as one side character who is Black, with other background/side characters who are POC.

🎉 What a blast of a read this was! 🎉

I was totally hooked on all the Derby chatter, and you bet I'm popping on the movie Whip It as soon as I finish this book!

But let me tell you, while Millie is a wonderfully complex protagonist, my heart absolutely belongs to Stork. That kid is just something else. And hey, I'm headcanoning her as autistic because, well, why not?

Millie's journey in this book was just brilliantly done. She's a teenager through and through, with all the messiness and growth that entails. Being homeschooled, her struggles with loneliness hit home in a real way.

Every single moment of this book was an absolute joy, and I'm practically bouncing with excitement for others to dive in and love it too. Mighty Millie Novak was like a warm hug on a chilly day. It's all about Millie's passion for roller derby and her challenges in making friends, given her homeschooling situation.

And Millie? What a fantastically written character. Her personality is rich and layered, flaws and all, and watching her grow throughout the story was a real treat. But let's not forget the rest of the cast! It's rare to find a book where every character feels so fleshed out. Seriously, even the coaches had depth! It's what made me root for each and every one of them, flaws and all.

“People can be different from each other and still understand each other.”

This review is not spoiler free

I really enjoyed this book and I thought it was very fun, and sweet. I don’t know much about Roller Derby, but I feel like it was descriptive enough that my lack of knowledge didn’t hinder me at all, and I feel like I understand a lot more about the sport now without ever actually having seen a game. I also like the way that none of the characters are perfect and that they’re all flawed in some way.
General opinion on the main character:

Millie really frustrated me to begin with, especially when she’d constantly complain that she was bored. That’s like one of my biggest pet peeves, especially when you have as much freedom as Millie did, you can just go out and do things, or find something to do around the house, there’s so much you can spend your time doing so it irritates me to no end when people whine about being bored. I understood and related to Millie’s anxieties and self-doubt, especially when she didn’t think she was talented or worthy enough to be on the team, and I liked seeing her work to better herself and take other people’s advice into consideration. I really liked the dynamic she developed with Gables, especially as she’d been so intimidated by her to begin with, I feel like they developed a sweet team-mate bond and Gables was always helping Millie improve her skills. I didn’t like Millie’s initial crush, the age gap was a big yikes, and it was so wrong of Millie to lie about her age and pretend that she was two years older. I’m not sure how she’d managed to convince herself that Spiny would be okay with that when she found out, but Spiny flipping her shit was definitely appropriate. I really loved Millie’s developing friendship with Stork though, and how she didn’t even realise at first that she was developing a crush on her because it was so gradual and natural, and not intense like her crush on Spiny had been. It was so gross though when Millie betrayed Stork’s trust and told Pumpkin about Stork’s home life, especially considering she knew that Pumpkin never had a good thing to say about Stork and would obviously use it against her. Millie’s naivity and selfishness irritated me a lot, but I feel like she did grow up a lot over the course of the book and she is a teenager so I get where it comes from. I appreciate too that she owned up to what she’d done to Stork when she apologised, and that she apologised about/owned up to other nasty things she’d said too.

I loved Stork from the moment I met her, she was so sweet and dedicated and she was never pompous or arrogant about it. It irritated me to no end that Pumpkin and Millie would make fun of her for being passionate and dedicated, and then be mad that she was better/more skilled than them. Like of course she is, she puts the time and effort in! I really felt for her with her home life, and I love that she still had a loving relationship with her father, even if his hoarding tendencies made her home life more embarrassing for her. I feel like Stork was almost definitely autistic coded and I just loved her so much. The only thing that irritated me a bit was the way that she completely ignored Millie/stopped hanging out with her after she’d seen Spiny kiss her, and I get she was hurt and jealous or whatever, but like bro, come on, you made zero indication that you liked Millie for her to know that, and why can’t y’all just be friends anyway. I know of course she did start hanging out with her again before Millie actually told her that she’d broken up with Spiny, and I get it was because she was hurt, but I do think it was a bit shitty to just be so off with her like that and take it out on her, without actually explaining anything or giving a reason. Again, I know they’re teenagers, and none of them are perfect, but like dayum bro. I’m glad that the two of them ended up together though because they were really sweet together and I enjoyed their dynamic a lot, and I loved that they were both able to be entirely themselves.

By the end of the book, I really couldn’t stand Pumpkin. She was so hypocritical. Considering that she accused Millie of being selfish and only thinking about herself, Pumpkin was actually so selfish. Maybe it’s just me, but I remembered a bunch of times that Millie asked about David and maybe she didn’t engage as much in the conversation as Pumpkin might have wanted, but how is that Millie’s fault?? She asked about him a whole bunch of times, and yet Pumpkin made out like she’d never asked about him ever. Also, Pumpkin was the one that essentially forced Millie on Spiny so how can she then be mad that Millie constantly consults her about it/wants her advice/wants to tell her about it. YOU’RE THE ONE THAT BROUGHT IT UP. Millie has no real concept of friendship so she’s literally going off what you’ve given her and you made her “relationship” with Spiny so ofc Millie is gonna think bringing it up and involving Pumpkin is a way of spending time with her/showing that they’re friends. God, it frustrated me so much. And the fact that Pumpkin was so defensive about the fact she started dating Millie’s brother and never tried to understand where Millie had been coming from/understand why she was upset, and never once apologised. She wasn’t a good friend, and constantly pushed the blame onto everyone else for it. I cannot stand people like that. And when she weaponised what Millie had stupidly told her about Stork, that was so disgusting.

Overall, this was a fun read and I enjoyed it a lot.

This book was sent to me by Net Galley for an honest review.

To start off, I know absolutely nothing about roller derby. It was really fun to learn about a different sport and there wasn't one moment where I was confused about what was happening. I also feel like the premise of roller derby isn't used very often in any books I have read, so it was refreshing to read something new in that respect.

I'm not going to spoil anything, but the plot is predictable, but not in a bad way. Although you can pretty much guess what happens, the author really pulls you into the story. I found myself genuinely loving (and getting very mad at) the characters.

Millie frustrated me at times, but I think it's because I saw so much of myself in her. We all try to fit in, and the ways that we try don't always work or aren't healthy for us. I relate to Millie's lies because I used to do that (and sometimes still do) when I was her age. But it was really nice to see her growth as a character, and by the end, I was team Millie all the way!

I think the author does a really good job of making these characters feel real. That's one of the biggest gripes I have with some of the books I read---if the characters don't feel real to me then I can't be as invested in the story. I was absolutely invested I this one.

This book is just downright enjoyable. It held my interest the entire time I was reading it. I think it's the perfect book to take to the beach as a vacation read. It's simple, real, and full of heart!

Content warnings: alcohol consumption, references to divorced parents, references to past bullying, references to a parent who is a hoarder (not Millie).

Rep: Millie (MC) is cis, white, and pansexual (label not used on page, but the references point to this, and chubby. Until this author states otherwise, this is what I am using). Side cis, white sapphic characters. One side Black character. Other background/side POC characters.

This was such a fun, easy read.
I loved all of the Derby talk, and I am immediately going to have to put on the movie Whip It after this.

While Millie is an awesomely complex, messy main character, my heart belongs to Stork. I love that kid. I am headcanoning her as autistic because I said so.

Millie's development in this book was excellently done - she's a teenager, and acts like it. She's homeschooled, and her sadness about being so alone is really spot on.

I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment of this, and can't wait for other people to read and love it, too.

Elizabeth Holden’s MIGHTY MILLIE NOVAK was such a fantastic read! I’m not usually a big YA fan, but I loved this one. It’s a sports story, a coming-of-age story, a friendship story, and a love story, all rolled into one. Highly recommended!!

Mighty Millie Novak- 3.5 Stars.
I received this book as an ARC via Netgalley. This reveiw is being published on 03/20/204; however, the final copy of the book will not be published until later this year. Mighty Millie Novak is a good coming of age novel that depicts Millie's adventures in Roller Derby, Girl Crushes, and being a child of divorce. I really loved the accurate roller deby depictions and will definitely reccomend this novel to my friends interested in the sport. I feel like the author does a great job introducing and explaining roller derby without making the reader feel like the information is being shoved in their faces. Alternatively, I feel like the storyline moved very slowly. For the first 10 or so chapters, not much happens and I feel like there could have been more there. Overall, I do think it's a good book and will reccomend it, but patience is needed in the exposition. Again, the derby depictions are spot on as well as the depicitions of a girl figuring out her girl crushes and how to navigate her parent's divorce. Interested to see what Elizabeth Holden writes in the future and hope for more sapphic derby content.

Mighty Millie Novak is a YA Contemporary novel that has me wanting to buy some skates and join a roller derby league. The sport feels so badass, and even though I know nothing about it, I was able to follow the sport scenes easily.

Millie is a well written character. She has many strengths and flaws. I found myself annoyed by her self deprecation and sarcasm at times, but I loved the way other characters called her on it. There is a great reason/backstory behind it and I loved the way she slowly and realistically worked to combat her instinct to crap all over herself.

Along this line, I loved the way all the characters were written. They felt fleshed out and real with their own struggles and desires. I loved the love interest from the very beginning and the way their friendship developed.

Without getting into spoilers, Millie had a great arc and I loved the way the novel ended. I was so happy seeing how far she came and how much she grew.

This is definitely a great read that I recommend for anyone who loves a great sapphic sports romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and North Star Editions for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc of this!

4.5/5 Stars in total.

Millie Novak has always felt like an outsider. She doesn't go to school and when she did, she didn't have many friends. Her parents are freshly divorced and even though she's almost 16 she's never been to a party or had a relationship. Roller Derby is her one chance to connect with people and do something cool, but she still can't seem to connect and keep up with everyone.

Just as referenced in the book I also watched "Whip it" pretty young and then got into roller skating, not derby sadly, but I've tried pretty much every form of skating from quads to inliners and boards. So seeing this beautiful cover and reading the blurb about a fun, messy ya sports story about a queer Roller Derby girl, I immediately fell in love. This book feels exactly like the training montage in a lot of parts, giving you that gratifying feeling of Millie's growth. It is also painfully realistic to the existence of being a lonely teenage girl. I'm probably not the only one who will be able to heavily relate to Millie's voice because she is such a perfect representation of what it's like to be a teenager with all it's messy, sad, happy, exhausting and terrifying moments. I'm very vocal about hating few things more than a Mary Sue, and not just Millie, but pretty much every character in this book is the opposite of a Mary Sue.
The romance was also very sweet and even if I would've loved a little more of it, I did love the pieces we got and thought it was a cute, realistic development. All together, the only reason I'm not giving a full 5 stars is because there was just something missing in making the book more than a fun quick read. Though, it is something I see myself revisiting for a pick me up, and I will definitely be buying a physical version once the book is finally out!

thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for a review!

this was an INCREDIBLE depiction of being a sophomore, and as a direct result of that i had to read certain scenes between my fingers because of the secondhand embarrassment. the conversation with spiny nearly killed me. but that should only be evidence that i am genuinely attached to all of the characters in this book!

obviously millie was a flawed protagonist but i loved her anyway. but my (coveted, may i mention) award for favorite character simply has to go to stork who is perfect and i love her. millie how did you almost fumble that girl. she was right there for you all the time !!

the speech millie's coach gives to her about self deprecation is wonderful and i stole it to give today to one of the freshmen on my track team. thank you for the good words i will be taking them! hopefully they work as well for my little freshman as they did for millie because i'm not sure how much more i can take.

roller derby books rule. everyone should read more roller derby books. including this one!

Thank you to Flux and NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC of this book.

I don't know where to begin other than, I loved this!

Mighty Millie Novak is a contemporary YA fiction book with a little something for everyone. Athletics, friendship, queerness, family dynamics - the list goes on.

Elizabeth Holden gives readers a front row seat to the world of roller derby. I don't have a lot of knowledge of roller derby, other than Whip It, but I found myself cheering for these fictional characters and their accomplishments, getting excited when the team scored. I can only imagine how exciting this sport must be in real life!

Mighty is a flawed protagonist, but at her core, still likeable and I couldn't help rooting for her. She isn't perfect and that's part of what allows her to "grow" on the reader as the story progresses.

At the end of the book, I found myself thinking about things I was afraid of. Like Mighty, I like staying where I feel comfortable - not branching out too far into the unknown. Now, I'm actually thinking about starting inline skating again. It's something I've been terrified of because it's been over a decade since I've been in skates, but I'm feeling inspired.

- 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.