It’s an honor to bring you the final June installment of Dr. Bickmore’s Weekend Picks this month. As some of our readers know, I (Amanda) have been on a quest to read all the YA Lit featuring girl athletes that I can find; this pursuit is in its second summer, and I continue to be blown away by the stories of resilient, resistant, strong protagonists at the helm of these novels.
Bruised by Tanya Boteju
 | Bruised by Tanya Boteju is one of those stories. The protagonist is 18-year-old Daya who recently lost both parents in a car accident. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Daya is left to consider what her life might look like without her parents; she turns to physical outlets as a way to fill the void where those familial relationships once existed. Adding to this void is the absence of boxing – a sport she grew up learning from her father, sometimes at the disapproval of her mother. After their deaths, Daya wants nothing to do with boxing as it brings memories of her father and the pain of loss. Although she refuses to pick up a boxing glove, she does still crave a physical outlet for the emotional pain she feels. This is where skateboarding enters Daya’s life, and where the novel begins. We enter Daya’s journey as she catapults herself from one trick on her board to the next. She seeks the challenge of the sport and welcomes the crashes that come with it. What begins as innocent distraction in sport turns to a reliance on skateboarding as a way to self-injure: |
“I’d been craving something physical – some kind of contact that didn’t involve sharing my damn feelings… an activity that didn’t remind me of my parents. I’d found myself at this park, watching the skateboarders whipping in and out of the bowl, performing tricks, stumbling or crashing to the ground. Something about their plunging motions, the way they just gave themselves over to this deep dive into a concrete basin, seemed so appealing to me. So uncomplicated and gutsy. Throw yourself into a free fall and come up the other side. Or not.” (Boteju, 2021 p. 16).
| The solitary nature of skateboarding allows Daya the private space to self-injure through bruising without too many questions being asked. But when a friend suggests a new sport – roller derby – Daya is drawn to the competitive drive of the women she watches skate, and to the fierce roughness of the sport. She is drawn to the authenticity with which many of the characters on and around the team live (LGBTQIA+ found family), which is important to her as she navigates her own identity questions. Daya fights for a place on the team, but how will she continue to self-harm when teammates are relying on her to be her best in the rink? Daya must rise to meet the biggest challenges of her life: navigating emotions, relationships, and the physicality of a sport that requires the devotion of her whole self. Walk, run, skateboard, rollerblade, (or click!) your way to this story asap. Bruised by Tanya Boteju will not disappoint. |  Tanya Boteju |
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