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Roller Girls #2
Hell's Belles
Annie's roller derby team, the Liberty Belles, are finally on a winning streak. They plan a special Halloween bout with their arch rivals, the High Rollers. But Annie sprains her ankle. Will it heal in time for the bout? To make matters worse, Tyler seems to be ignoring her and flirting with Kelsey, her school's most popular cheerleader. At least Jesse is proving to be a good friend. He always seems to know exactly how to cheer her up.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
2 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Megan Sparks
7 books8 followersMegan Sparks is the author of the Roller Girls series. The first two books in the series, Falling Hard and Hell's Belles, were published by Capstone Young Readers in 2013. Kirkus Reviews called Falling Hard a "fun romp of a girls' sports story."
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 14, 2020
I would have definitely given this 5 stars if i had read it 5 years ago
December 7, 2017
The series remains fluffy but sweet. I really do like Annie—she lets her emotions get the better of her sometimes, but mostly she's pretty level-headed and low-key. I could have used a bit more roller derby here (it leaned pretty heavy on petty school drama and Annie's father's café), but it's nice to see a heroine who doesn't make a big drama over commitment vs. boy—instead, here, she regretfully declines the boy-thing because it's the right thing to do. Not a big splash of a book, but I'll happily keep reading.
January 19, 2014
Reading Hell's Belles felt more like a chore to me than a reading pleasure. I really don't want to come across as harsh or mean towards to book but I don't think it worked for me as well as it did for the people on Goodreads. This whole series isn't working for me and I don't think I would like to continue it. I just find the whole story line so obvious and uninteresting.
To be honest, I found the characters quite bland. But obviously this is my opinion only, I've seen awesome reviews of this book. Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty good book for maybe a younger age group. On the publisher's website, it said the recommended age group is 12-16 which I think is completely off. I would take out a few bad words and 'BAM!', you've got a children's book specifically for those aged 8-11.
I was very unsure whether I should give this book a 2/5 or a 3/5. So it got me thinking. Since this is a series, I asked myself whether I would finish or even continue it. Well, would I? I wasn't very intrigued in what was going to happen because I knew how it was going to end. I guessed and I guessed correctly. Everything that I thought was going to happen, happened. And I don't really enjoy reading books like that.
It was so stereotypical. Girl meets boy, girl has friends. Girl turns boy down to be with friends. Because 'Friends are Forever'. But that was how I saw it. And also some of the character names such as Kelsey's name. It does sound very stereotypical. If it was something a little more original, I would have found the book a little better
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking for a powerful or engaging read. This was very, very light read. Maybe others would enjoy this a lot more enjoyable than me.
To be honest, I found the characters quite bland. But obviously this is my opinion only, I've seen awesome reviews of this book. Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty good book for maybe a younger age group. On the publisher's website, it said the recommended age group is 12-16 which I think is completely off. I would take out a few bad words and 'BAM!', you've got a children's book specifically for those aged 8-11.
I was very unsure whether I should give this book a 2/5 or a 3/5. So it got me thinking. Since this is a series, I asked myself whether I would finish or even continue it. Well, would I? I wasn't very intrigued in what was going to happen because I knew how it was going to end. I guessed and I guessed correctly. Everything that I thought was going to happen, happened. And I don't really enjoy reading books like that.
It was so stereotypical. Girl meets boy, girl has friends. Girl turns boy down to be with friends. Because 'Friends are Forever'. But that was how I saw it. And also some of the character names such as Kelsey's name. It does sound very stereotypical. If it was something a little more original, I would have found the book a little better
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking for a powerful or engaging read. This was very, very light read. Maybe others would enjoy this a lot more enjoyable than me.
July 21, 2015
Picking up exactly where book one left off—like the following week's episode of Saved By the Bell—this second installment of Megan Spark's Roller Girls series is as solid as the first. Freshman Annie Turner, newly transplanted from England to small-town Illinois (setting of endless eighties teen movies), continues to adapt to her new country, new school and new friends, while becoming more and more enmeshed in the vivid and bold world of roller derby. She plays for a juniors team, but it reads exactly like an adult team would. These books never diverge from the well-traveled road of new-girl-in-high-school themes, but they remain worth reading.
The cheerleader queen bee and her crew of mean girls in particular are hackneyed clichés, as is the hunk our heroine Annie pines for, and the other hot boy who is her friend who we all know she is going to end up with in the end (I imagine at the end of book four), the cool arty nonconformist best friend, the best dad ever, and on and on. Annie also has some roller derby rivals who are also becoming clichéd in the small but growing body of roller derby fiction.
That being said; like all clichés people like this are really out there in the world. As the overall package is enjoyable—the writing and the voice and the characters—it's easy enough to roll with what proves to be an overly-familiar, formula. No matter how many times we've seen this—girl falls for the hot guy when the guy she should be with is right in front of her—if it's well executed, it works, and this is a satisfying read.
Book two ends like a television episode; this week’s story wraps up, but obviously there is more to come.
The cheerleader queen bee and her crew of mean girls in particular are hackneyed clichés, as is the hunk our heroine Annie pines for, and the other hot boy who is her friend who we all know she is going to end up with in the end (I imagine at the end of book four), the cool arty nonconformist best friend, the best dad ever, and on and on. Annie also has some roller derby rivals who are also becoming clichéd in the small but growing body of roller derby fiction.
That being said; like all clichés people like this are really out there in the world. As the overall package is enjoyable—the writing and the voice and the characters—it's easy enough to roll with what proves to be an overly-familiar, formula. No matter how many times we've seen this—girl falls for the hot guy when the guy she should be with is right in front of her—if it's well executed, it works, and this is a satisfying read.
Book two ends like a television episode; this week’s story wraps up, but obviously there is more to come.
July 29, 2016
Review written by my 10 year old daughter.
*ARC received in exchange for an honest review*
Roller Girls: Hell’s Belles is the second book in the Roller Girls series and is about how nobody has been coming to the Liberty Belles bouts. The team decides to have a Halloween bout but it’s on the same day as the Halloween dance. I love this book because it has a great message about choice, and is complete with a happy ending. Another thing I really liked is how it’s about a girl in high school who had the chance to become popular but turned it down in order to be the girl she wanted to be. It is a very powerful lesson in standing by our own choices and not falling into the trap of peer pressure. Again we see strong girls making good choices. I would recommend reading the first book in the series, Falling Hard first for it to make more sense I would recommend it for older kids because there is some mild language, but if this doesn’t bother you, I highly suggest it! Another great book by Megan Sparks and I’m looking forward to the next in the series!
*ARC received in exchange for an honest review*
Roller Girls: Hell’s Belles is the second book in the Roller Girls series and is about how nobody has been coming to the Liberty Belles bouts. The team decides to have a Halloween bout but it’s on the same day as the Halloween dance. I love this book because it has a great message about choice, and is complete with a happy ending. Another thing I really liked is how it’s about a girl in high school who had the chance to become popular but turned it down in order to be the girl she wanted to be. It is a very powerful lesson in standing by our own choices and not falling into the trap of peer pressure. Again we see strong girls making good choices. I would recommend reading the first book in the series, Falling Hard first for it to make more sense I would recommend it for older kids because there is some mild language, but if this doesn’t bother you, I highly suggest it! Another great book by Megan Sparks and I’m looking forward to the next in the series!
July 2, 2014
Book 2 in the series, this tells of the further adventures of Annie and her roller derby team, the Liberty Belles. This instalment takes place during the month of October (book 1 took place during the month of September), leading up to Hallowe'en. This month, Annie takes a particularly nasty spill during a scrimmage and gets injured! Will she be able to play in the special Hallowe'en exhibition game with the rest of her team, or not? Good for all the same reasons the last one was. This is a fun series of quick reads :-)
March 18, 2016
It's a pretty decent read but I found myself getting annoyed with the dialog written for the little boy she babysits and the constant references to music that I'm pretty sure these kids would not listen to or consider "punk." Seriously, Savage Garden in 2013?
September 13, 2016
See double review of this and Falling Hard!
December 26, 2013
Dear dear Jesse... <3
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews