As someone who loves roller derby, I had high hopes for this book but I ended up DNFing it due to lack of connection with the characters.

I really liked this! I loved that the main character was new to roller derby, so I as a reader got to learn everything about the sport along with her. I LOVED the representation of all kinds (LGBTQ spectrum, I’m pretty sure every letter was represented, along with anxiety in the MC and chronic fatigue in the MC’s mother). I was entertained the entire time and would highly recommend to anyone who thinks the premise looks or sounds interesting!

Learning to Fall by Peach Morris is a heartfelt coming-of-age story that follows a young protagonist navigating identity, family, love, and self-acceptance, all while finding community in the unlikely setting of roller derby.

What I really loved about this book was how well it captured the struggles of growing up—figuring out who you are, learning to accept your sexuality, and dealing with the complexities of family and relationships. The found family aspect was beautifully written, and the way the story explored the messiness of both chosen and biological families felt incredibly authentic. I got attached to all of the characters, and honestly, I’d love to read more stories featuring every single one of them.

Another standout element was the sensitive and thoughtful way chronic illness and caregiving were portrayed. It added so much depth and heart to the story, and I appreciated how respectfully and realistically it was handled.

If I had one small critique, it’s that the roller derby element, while unique and interesting, got a bit overwhelming for me. The technical details and heavy focus on the sport sometimes pulled me out of the narrative. But that’s more a matter of personal taste than a flaw in the writing.

Overall, this was a moving and layered story that really resonated with me, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more from Peach Morris.

There are not a lot of books about roller derby, and found this one amazingly heartwarming and emotional. I loved the romance between the characters, and would love to read more from this author!

I got about five percent through the book and had to quit. Something about the writing style just didn’t click with me

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

When I found this book, I knew I was going to enjoy it by the premise alone. Roller derby is a sport I’m familiar with in terms of its ties to queer culture, but not a sport I have an intense knowledge of, unlike Peach Morris, who delivered a touching story of found family and finding yourself that I would have loved as a younger teenager. Learning to Fall is about so many things: love, acceptance, family, and how to get back up when you fall.

The unconventionality of love is what makes it feel stronger. Casey and Imogen’s relationship is messy from the start, which drives home the point that life is unexpected. I adored the way that they ended up getting together, despite how doomed they seemed from the start, as well as the conclusion to their story together. They fall together while still having separate storylines and conflicts of their own to work through, which was so refreshing to see for two queer girls.

For all its beautiful character work, I felt that the story moved way too fast. Moments felt rushed to complete a word count, which took away from my reading experience. It’s likely due to the fact that this is a debut novel, and debut authors are under much tighter schedules and rules for publishing, so in reality, it doesn’t bother me too much. I do hope to see more works from Morris, as their sheer love for the queer community found in roller derby is infectious through the pages, and I’m sure they can deliver again.

DNF @ 20% — I couldn’t finish it, didn’t have a desire to. Nothing kept me hooked to keep me reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and 8th Note Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Casey found herself in more than just one way in this book. I had a good time following her around and seeing her grow. Before I read this, I didn't know a lot about roller derby. I haven't even watched Whip it and was able to learn a lot about Roller Derby.

The story focuses on Casey, who tries out Roller skating. it focuses a lot on the skating and some scenes were really detailed about for example you hit someone the right way or how to stop the skates. It was interesting but in some moments a bit much. Especially when the themes were repeated. It was still interesting to learn something new.

Before writing this review, I checked again if this is a debut novel or not, because I really couldn't tell while reading. It was funny but also serious at times and it showed a lot different aspects of the life. The writing was really nice to read and I didn't have any moments where I felt the story was boring or something was missing. I will definitely read more of Peach Morris books in the future!

I highly recommend this to fans of sport romances. The romance in this isn't that big but it still is an important part of the story. The focus is more on the sports part, which I also enjoyed. On top of that, it's sapphic. What more can you want?

Thank you to Netgalley for this EARC!

„Learning to Fall“ hat mich direkt angesprochen. Und zwar nicht nur, weil man mich mit sapphic YA romance immer kriegt, sondern auch weil ich Roller Derby wahnsinnig interessant finde und es noch deutlich zu wenig Bücher über diesen Sport gibt. Dafür also schon mal: Daumen nach oben!

Und man merkt beim Lesen so richtig, wie sehr die Autorin diesen Sport liebt. Sie beschreibt das Training, jeden Wettkampf und alles, was mit Roller Derby zu tun hat, mit so einer Liebe fürs Detail und ganz viel brennender Leidenschaft, dass ich beinahe meine alten Roller Blades entstauben wollte. (Aber der Sport ist dann doch etwas zu brutal für mich. Ich lese lieber weiter darüber.)

Auch die ganzen Charaktere in der Truppe haben wahnsinnig Spaß gemacht. Wie sie Casey in ihrer Mitte willkommen geheißen haben – so sehen Teamgeist und Freundschaft aus! Davon gibt es definitiv eine ganze Menge in dem Buch, denn der Sport drängt die Romance ein klein wenig an die Seite, was mich am Anfang nicht sonderlich gestört hat, aber zum Ende hin hätte ich mir tatsächlich ein wenig mehr Liebe in dieser Liebesgeschichte gewünscht.

Die Romance spielt sich – nicht überraschend – zwischen Casey und Imogen ab, die beide sehr gegensätzliche Persönlichkeiten haben.

Casey ist eher introvertert, eine Einzelgängerin, aber auch fürsorglich. Ihre kranke Mutter, um die sie sich kümmert, steht an erster Stelle, auch wenn diese sie ermuntert, Freundschaften zu pflegen und ihren Hobbys nachzugehen.

Imogen auf der anderen Seite ist sehr aufgeschlossen, laut und statt vorsichtig zu sein, prescht sie gern mit dem Kopf voran durch die Wand. Aber vor allem mag ich ihre Loyalität. Sie würde alles geben für die Leute, die ihr wichtig sind und adoptiert Casey quasi in den Freundeskreis, nachdem das erste Aufeinandertreffen der beiden nicht ganz optimal war. Nicht Liebe, eher Freundschaft auf den ersten Blick.

Und es ist eine echt gute Freundschaft.

Ich wäre voll fein damit gewesen, wenn es dabei belassen worden wäre. Es hätte der Story keinen Abbruch getan. Doch mir wurde eine Romance versprochen, also bin ich mit dieser Erwartungshaltung an die Geschichte rangegangen, nur um vom Romance-Gehalt des Buches etwas enttäuscht zu werden. Meine Gefühl dazu sind deshalb vielleicht ein klitzekleines Bisschen gemischt.

Zum Schluss noch ein paar Worte zur Selbstfindungsjourney der beiden Protagonistinnen. Imogen ist zu Beginn bereits geoutet, so wie einige weitere Mitglieder des Roller Derby-Teams. Casey, jedoch, findet erst im Laufe der Story für sich heraus, dass sie queer ist, was meiner Meinung nach sehr gut behandelt wird. (CN: Queerfeindlichkeit ist dennoch ein Thema.)

Im Großen und Ganzen:
„Learning to Fall“ ist ein mitreißender Jugendroman, der sich leidenschaftlich dem Thema Roller Derby widmet und mit seinem diversen Cast echt Spaß macht. Die Romance spielt sich eher hintergründig ab, was meine Erwartungshaltung nicht ganz entsprochen hat. Letztendlich ist es jedoch eine solide Geschichte, die ich gern weiterempfehle.

This was so stinking cute. I really liked the characters, and the fact that the romance wasn't overpowered by the characters' ability to self reflect and grow as individuals. Some parts of the story felt inconsistent and weird, but overall it was really cute and engaging. I read it pretty quickly, and It was decently paced.

As a roller skater, I loved all of the skating in this book! I don't do derby, but I understand skating being a huge part of someone's identity and I love the idea of the queer community centered around roller derby. I also enjoyed the disability and mental health representation in this book and the focus on building healthy relationships and letting unhealthy ones end.

It did lose one star from me because of the writing style. It just felt a little unpolished and unnecessarily detailed in places like when the reader was walked through the entire process of making tea. For a debut book though, I thought it was really good and I'm very grateful to Morris for sharing her love of roller derby with the world!

As a derby player, I was really interested in this story. I felt like it was honestly a great representation of the Derby world, and I really enjoyed getting to now the characters.

A deftly-handled story about discovering your identity and the things that bring you joy and finding your voice to protect the things and people that you love.
If you love roller derby, this will obviously be a hit, but if you love stories with mental health representation, more queer/trans characters than you can shake a stick at, and endings that feel real rather than perfect, this will also be one for you.
A real stand-out debut from Peach Morris, I can't wait to read whatever they write next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This debut novel told the story of a teen girl who finds herself through roller derby. I loved the queer rep and the introduction to this unique sport. A great read!

This book was right up my alley from the jump. Queer YA is my favourite genre, I love roller derby, and I also have the same chronic illness as both the author and the MC’s mum.

The character development was brilliant, and the plot was a great balance of both quicker paced scenes, and more drawn out narratives. I really respect how the mum’s disability was represented, and the honest discussions about the impact of being a carer. The in-depth inclusion of derby rules, strategy, and culture was also incredibly well done.

This is a great book for those looking for a fun, quirky time, with some really impactful discourse about disability and mental health. I look forward to checking out future books by Peach Morris!

4 stars. I'd like to thank the author and the publisher for this ARC. 'Learning to fall' is a fast paced book with really loveable characters. There's happening A LOT in this book, but the most of it is clear and well written. I love the roller-derby storyline, since there aren't a lot of books who cover this kind of sport. That in combination with the personal stories; loveable characters en the realistic problems they struggle with is what makes this a great YA story. I really like to read more books from this author.

The sapphic romance is cute and messy, and I liked the resolution, because for a while I was scared that their issues wouldn’t be addressed.

Overall, it’s a fun and fast-paced read that tackled really well the queer-safe-space aspect of roller derby.

Casey has always been someone anxious, but it’s been getting worse as her college enrollment deadline nears. Due to her mother’s chronic fatigue, Casey took a year off to take care of her, and while life is boring, it’s … safe. Leaving her mom to go to college, though, moving to London, being alone with strangers, it’s all very much not safe. And all of this is made even worse by Casey walking in on her boyfriend having sex with another girl — the same girl who later offers up a very genuine apology and a tentative offer to be friends.

Casey has found her life turned upside down. For one, she’s not even certain she really minds losing her boyfriend. It’s shocking, it’s hurtful, but it’s not as crushing as TV makes it seem — much as spending time with him and kissing him wasn’t as romantic or all consuming as TV made it seem. And really, Casey’s surprisingly fond of Imogen, even with that past issue behind them.

While trying to befriend Imogen, Casey starts training with the local roller derby team, the same team Imogen is on. There she meets Venom, the team captain; Mel, another newbie like herself; and so many other girls. Casey learns to stand strong against rival skaters, to work as a team, to touch and be touched, and to have friends. She also starts falling in love, just a little, with Imogen. Does Imogen feel the same way? And even if she did, is Casey brave enough to tell Imogen how she feels?

Before going too far, I should mention that this isn’t really a romance. While Casey has feelings for Imogen, and the two share a brief moment as possible girlfriends, all of that happens off page, assumed and implied rather than shown or explored. The focus of this book is Casey’s self-discovery, her growth as a person, and her coming out, as well as coming of age. There are also quite a few mentions of injuries incurred while skating, such as bruises, twisted ankles, broken ribs, punctured lungs, and a broken nose. It’s not graphic, but it’s there.

Casey is a younger sister; her older sister, Billy, grew up with fewer opportunities and less interest in school, so she sees Casey taking this year off as … well, a bit offensive. Casey has all these opportunities she’s wasting, and Billy is very judgmental about it, equally — or perhaps more — upset that Casey is spending money on roller derby equipment, rather than saving for school. While the two sisters aren’t close, when Casey comes out, Billy doesn’t care. If her girlfriend treats Casey poorly, Billy will go after them, but still, when is Casey going back to school?

Casey herself is full of self-doubts, always judging herself against other people. She leans on Imogen’s friendship to guide her through life, looking to Im for support, encouragement, and validation, even when she is getting much the same feedback from the team, who sees her and respects her for the player she is. When Casey has her first panic attack, it’s Im who calms her down; when Im isn’t there for the second one, Casey breaks down and, after an accident during training, considers leaving the team. It’s only her therapist who can get her to see that she not only can keep going, but she deserves to. Skating makes her happy, the team are her friends, she’s good at what she does, and she deserves to be proud of it.

Casey’s mom will never not need help, and Casey has become somewhat parentified with her imagined need — and her mother’s real need — for Casey to help. When Casey starts having panic attacks, her mom has to finally step in and tell Casey that she’s not the parent who has to worry about the future, she’s the child who needs to go to school and have her own life. She encourages Casey into therapy, she’s understanding and forgiving when Casey lashes out in pain and fear and uncertainty. And, like Billy, she is warmly accepting of Casey regardless of her sexuality.

There’s even a nice moment where Casey’s mom, on learning Casey has a girlfriend, sits her down for a talk about dental dams, because you can still get STDs even if you’re not having penetrative sex.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you actually,” Mum says, putting her mug down on the side table by the sofa. I instantly cycle through all the worst possible reasons for this— she’s ill, Billy is ill, Harry is ill, maybe I’m ill? “It’s about Imogen.” Imogen’s ill?

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to make sure you’re being … well … safe, with her.”

Oh god. “Mum, you don’t have to—”

“Because even if she can’t get you pregnant, you know you can still get—” “Mum!” “No, I’m doing this. There are these things called dental dams that—”

“Mother!”

“Or maybe she can get you pregnant, I don’t know.” “

She can’t get me pregnant.”

“I just want you to know about your options.”

We’re both turning bright red and I want the floor to swallow me whole. “I really appreciate it, but honestly, I’m fine.”

“And you know you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do?”

“I know.”

“I just don’t want you to feel pressured to move faster than you’d like to. Your body is your own and you get to decide on things like that when you’re ready. And I know it’s cringey to talk about it with your mum but you really can. We might find it embarrassing but it’s important you know that.”

The Imogen in question is a bright shining star of personality whose mother is strictly conservative and who lives mostly closeted at home. She also, through the book, turns more and more to drink to cope with the stress. Much like her introduction, where she is caught sleeping with someone she was pretty sure had a girlfriend (but someone she decided to fuck anyway), Im is flighty, scattered, and better as an idea in Casey’s head than as a person. Or a friend.

The book takes place over the course of a year, with almost every moment of the developing friendship and romance between Casey and Imogen happening off page. It helps add to Casey’s uncertainty, because I am uncertain of how much — if anything — Im actually felt for Casey. And because this book is about Casey and her growing up and coming into her own, it does work for me that Im is more an ideal, the daydream of a girlfriend, rather than an actual person.

The pace of this book is all over the place as months, weeks, and days pass during random chapters; no friendship is shown with any depth, because there simply isn’t any of it on page, leaving everything to be taken for granted rather than explored. The one thing that is explored, in detail, is roller derby. Loosening wheels, buying helmets, how points work, scenes of the team practicing, doing endurance runs, learning to jam or block or what have you. It felt, to me, like a reenactment of an article on roller derbies. I didn’t really get a sense of the team, or any of the people Casey meets, as much as I learned how much she loved roller derby, and what she did while at practice.

Because of all of this info dumping, and so much talking about things rather than dealing with them — with what felt like a good half of the story missing from the pages of the book — I didn’t have the best time with this. I struggled to keep my interest up because, while it’s clear the author is interested in the subject, the roller derby scenes weren’t explained or written in such a way that I could visualize it. I felt like the author was telling me about their hobby, rather than sharing it with me. But, that’s just my opinion.

The writing’s fine, Casey’s relationship with her mother and sister are well written, and I think both her mother’s chronic fatigue and Casey’s anxiety and panic attacks are handled well. I just think the rest of the book feels lifeless. If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it.

What a firecracker of a debut!

I read the whole book in less than 12 hours, I was hooked! I devoured as much as I could before falling asleep one evening, and finished the rest in the morning.

Although there is a romantic aspect to the story, it’s much more about the journey of the main character, Casey. As well as having a very touching coming-out storyline, she also goes on a journey with her mental health and self-confidence that was really powerful. I particularly liked the way her experience with compulsory heterosexuality was depicted.

The whole book is a love letter to roller derby, and the author’s love for both the sport and its community is leaping off every page. You can’t help but sense the excitement and exhilaration of the sport, as well as the strong bonds forged between teammates. I particularly enjoyed the parallels the author drew between the sport and queerness, in exploring how they often go hand in hand.

Although the pacing was a little rushed at the start, this was a really great read that I loved from start to finish. I look forward to reading more from the author!

I received a free copy for an honest review.

I am not quite sure how to feel about Learning to Fall. In terms of the Roller Derby aspect of the book I love how it taught you the sport along with the FMC. As someone who did beginner courses for Roller Derby, it really hit home and made me miss the time I had while in the sport before I had to move away from my team. The author also does a great job touching on the troubles of mental and physical struggles and what the reality of being a part of the LGBTQ community can be for some people.
When it comes to the romantic plot, I know that not every story can have a happily ever after since life isn’t about that but

-Spoilers-

I was upset that the 2 main characters didn’t end up together in the end, unless I misread the ending. I do like how the FMC did get her confidence back to play the sport and I understand why they went their separate ways but I read for the happy endings and to get away from the real world icks. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.