What do you think?
Rate this book
How To Roller-Skate with One Leg
"A book to race through, heart thudding, cheering Maya's courage - a book to keep forever because it's so subtle, so surprising, so very special." JACQUELINE WILSON
"An inspiring and uplifting story that celebrates friendship, family and overcoming challenges." The Week Jr
When Maya finds a list she made before losing her leg, she decides she's still going to do everything on it - even though her former bestie has ditched her for the cool kids.
Before she turns 13, she's going to . . .
* Get her ears double-pierced
* Learn how to roller-skate
* Stay up all night at a sleepover
* Go viral
* Have the best birthday party ever
* MAKE HER EX-BEST-FRIEND SOPHIE REALISE WHAT SHE'S MISSING!!!
This funny and uplifting story by journalist and amputee Ella Dove is a celebration of friendship, family and overcoming adversity.
"An inspiring and uplifting story that celebrates friendship, family and overcoming challenges." The Week Jr
When Maya finds a list she made before losing her leg, she decides she's still going to do everything on it - even though her former bestie has ditched her for the cool kids.
Before she turns 13, she's going to . . .
* Get her ears double-pierced
* Learn how to roller-skate
* Stay up all night at a sleepover
* Go viral
* Have the best birthday party ever
* MAKE HER EX-BEST-FRIEND SOPHIE REALISE WHAT SHE'S MISSING!!!
This funny and uplifting story by journalist and amputee Ella Dove is a celebration of friendship, family and overcoming adversity.
272 pages, Paperback
Published February 27, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 17, 2025
A great pre teen book about not giving up that also shows the insight in to daily life as an amputee.
October 2, 2025
Fijne representatie!
Een zoveel fijner boek dan een flimsy ‘Muts’ en low-key vol ‘hoe het met vriendschappen gaat op de middelbare school’: een vriendin die je laat stikken (ook al had ze een soort van goede reden), ontdekken wie je ‘échte’ vrienden zijn, knuffelen met cavia’s en glitter-pailletten-rokjes.
Niet heel briljant qua taal, wel in een herkenbare stijl die lezers van bijv. ‘Lottie’ zal aanspreken. Het is lief, grappig en stoer. Met een duidelijk, spannend begin en een hartverwarmend einde - precies zoals het hoort.
Beetje heavy on the ‘je bent zo inspirerend met je geamputeerde been’, maar dit komt met name uit de mond van bij-karakters. Hoofdpersoon Maya vindt het heel normaal (of althans, daar doet ze hard haar best voor) om met haar ene been en aan het andere wel/geen prothese een hele normale twaalfjarige te zijn.
Fijn en belangrijk boek, zowel voor een kind met eveneens een fysieke beperking als een kind dat wel eens wat dankbaarder mag zijn dat al kluifjes er nog aan zitten en het gewoon doen.
Ik las de Nederlandse editie van uitgeverij Veltman!
Een zoveel fijner boek dan een flimsy ‘Muts’ en low-key vol ‘hoe het met vriendschappen gaat op de middelbare school’: een vriendin die je laat stikken (ook al had ze een soort van goede reden), ontdekken wie je ‘échte’ vrienden zijn, knuffelen met cavia’s en glitter-pailletten-rokjes.
Niet heel briljant qua taal, wel in een herkenbare stijl die lezers van bijv. ‘Lottie’ zal aanspreken. Het is lief, grappig en stoer. Met een duidelijk, spannend begin en een hartverwarmend einde - precies zoals het hoort.
Beetje heavy on the ‘je bent zo inspirerend met je geamputeerde been’, maar dit komt met name uit de mond van bij-karakters. Hoofdpersoon Maya vindt het heel normaal (of althans, daar doet ze hard haar best voor) om met haar ene been en aan het andere wel/geen prothese een hele normale twaalfjarige te zijn.
Fijn en belangrijk boek, zowel voor een kind met eveneens een fysieke beperking als een kind dat wel eens wat dankbaarder mag zijn dat al kluifjes er nog aan zitten en het gewoon doen.
Ik las de Nederlandse editie van uitgeverij Veltman!
December 17, 2025
Hoe je kunt rolschaatsen met één been. Bijzonder onderwerp en geschreven door Ella Dove vanuit haar eigen ervaringen als geamputeerde.
Het omslag geeft een goede indruk van het soort verhaal. Makkelijk, meisjesachtig, voorspelbaar. Maar gezien het onderwerp zeer zeker de moeite van het promoten waard.
Vanaf 10 jaar en naar verwachting vooral voor meiden.
Het omslag geeft een goede indruk van het soort verhaal. Makkelijk, meisjesachtig, voorspelbaar. Maar gezien het onderwerp zeer zeker de moeite van het promoten waard.
Vanaf 10 jaar en naar verwachting vooral voor meiden.
May 9, 2025
My eleven year old daughter said this was the best book she had ever read. It reduced her to tears in a good way and she felt really empowered. She felt like she could do anything she wanted to do, so thanks so much for writing this beautiful book. I’m going to read it myself now.
April 27, 2026
A gorgeous middle-grade novel in which the protagonist, Maya, gets to grips with friendships, school and re-finding her spark after a life-changing accident: the perfect mix of highs and lows without being too cheesy.
October 23, 2025
Rounded up from 3.5 🌟
Not the huge emotional impact it could’ve been but still a lovely story!
Not the huge emotional impact it could’ve been but still a lovely story!
July 29, 2025
A wonderful book about a girl who loses a leg in an accident and how she tries to get her life back.
😍 I loved Maya from the start. I loved her determination. I loved that she was strong and was ready to rock the world again. But I also love that the book didn’t just show the good sides. We see that Maya is struggling. Not just with her prosthetic and how it works, but also with school, her friendship with Sophie, with her family, with restrictions that her leg brings her. At times things are hard and I just wanted to reach out and give her a hug. At other times I just wanted to shake her and tell her to take it easy. And for most I was just rooting for her to get that list done, to get all her dreams, to find her balance again. She was such a fun character.
😍 Plus, I love that she was a teenager and a well-written one. A lot of things I recognised from when I was a teen. Moody. Parents that hover. Just want to do my own thing.
😍 Maya’s friends Vita and Miles were just a delight and I love how supportive and sweet they were in their own way. From Miles and his endless messages to Whatsapp and also candy delivery to Vita who helps with schoolwork and is there to help out Maya with things. I loved the bond these three had and I could really see the friendship between them.
😍 The list was such a fun addition and I loved the things that were on it.
😍 Guinea pigs! I just LOVE those little critters and we get plenty of them in the book as mom has quite a few of them. I also love their names and their little personalities. I just wanted to step in the book and hug them all!
😍 Seeing Maya try out rollerskating. I knew that things probably wouldn’t go well, but I was hoping that she was at least able to rollerskate for a bit. Kick some ass. You know the deal.
😍 I loved that while a lot of the book was positive we also saw the bad parts. As I said in the first 😍 part about Maya it isn’t just happiness that she can do more. We see the pain, we read about a visit to the prothesis doctor, we see her adjust to things, we read about the crutches and the wheelchair.
😍 The parents, while the mom was a bit too much for me (see the 🤔 parts), I did see two people who really wanted the best for their kid. The dad was more laid back and I loved how he made Maya happy with food and painting moments.
😍 The cover is just so fun!
😍 I loved the little illustrations dotted throughout the book.
😍 And I just love an added epilogue!
😍 Oh, and that last bit by the author, perfection!
🤔 While I could definitely understand where the mom comes from, I mean she almost lost her kid, but I was still annoyed with her at times in the book. A lot of scenarios and grumpy moods could have been stopped if mom wasn’t hovering so much. I get that it is scary to let your kid go in the wild again, but you have to. At times I just wanted to shake the mom and tell her to stop doing things. Like yes, things are going to hurt, but you cannot lock your kid up all day. Or that one time our MC fell out of bed (because at times when she is really tired she just forgets she doesn’t have two legs) and the mom was completely going. Chill.
🤔 I hope that the family that picked up the guinea pig also has some other guinea pigs already and that this one already met up with the others. Guinea pigs need roommates. I was so delighted with seeing them all together and then only one is picked up. Mm??
🤔 I also wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole Sophie business and how quickly everything was just resolved. I am sorry, but Sophie has been an utter bitch throughout the whole book, neglected her bestie, dropped her like a hot coal. Yes, what she is going through is also tough, but to just drop your bestie who LOST HER LEG and almost her life in an accident, what kind of fucked up friend are you? I would have liked things to not be resolved like that, give it more time and all.
All in all, I am in desperate need for more Maya books, I am curious what is next for her in life and what she is planning now she knows that her world can expand. It won’t be easy, but she has a great family and great friends and also great motivation and strength.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
😍 I loved Maya from the start. I loved her determination. I loved that she was strong and was ready to rock the world again. But I also love that the book didn’t just show the good sides. We see that Maya is struggling. Not just with her prosthetic and how it works, but also with school, her friendship with Sophie, with her family, with restrictions that her leg brings her. At times things are hard and I just wanted to reach out and give her a hug. At other times I just wanted to shake her and tell her to take it easy. And for most I was just rooting for her to get that list done, to get all her dreams, to find her balance again. She was such a fun character.
😍 Plus, I love that she was a teenager and a well-written one. A lot of things I recognised from when I was a teen. Moody. Parents that hover. Just want to do my own thing.
😍 Maya’s friends Vita and Miles were just a delight and I love how supportive and sweet they were in their own way. From Miles and his endless messages to Whatsapp and also candy delivery to Vita who helps with schoolwork and is there to help out Maya with things. I loved the bond these three had and I could really see the friendship between them.
😍 The list was such a fun addition and I loved the things that were on it.
😍 Guinea pigs! I just LOVE those little critters and we get plenty of them in the book as mom has quite a few of them. I also love their names and their little personalities. I just wanted to step in the book and hug them all!
😍 Seeing Maya try out rollerskating. I knew that things probably wouldn’t go well, but I was hoping that she was at least able to rollerskate for a bit. Kick some ass. You know the deal.
😍 I loved that while a lot of the book was positive we also saw the bad parts. As I said in the first 😍 part about Maya it isn’t just happiness that she can do more. We see the pain, we read about a visit to the prothesis doctor, we see her adjust to things, we read about the crutches and the wheelchair.
😍 The parents, while the mom was a bit too much for me (see the 🤔 parts), I did see two people who really wanted the best for their kid. The dad was more laid back and I loved how he made Maya happy with food and painting moments.
😍 The cover is just so fun!
😍 I loved the little illustrations dotted throughout the book.
😍 And I just love an added epilogue!
😍 Oh, and that last bit by the author, perfection!
🤔 While I could definitely understand where the mom comes from, I mean she almost lost her kid, but I was still annoyed with her at times in the book. A lot of scenarios and grumpy moods could have been stopped if mom wasn’t hovering so much. I get that it is scary to let your kid go in the wild again, but you have to. At times I just wanted to shake the mom and tell her to stop doing things. Like yes, things are going to hurt, but you cannot lock your kid up all day. Or that one time our MC fell out of bed (because at times when she is really tired she just forgets she doesn’t have two legs) and the mom was completely going. Chill.
🤔 I hope that the family that picked up the guinea pig also has some other guinea pigs already and that this one already met up with the others. Guinea pigs need roommates. I was so delighted with seeing them all together and then only one is picked up. Mm??
🤔 I also wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole Sophie business and how quickly everything was just resolved. I am sorry, but Sophie has been an utter bitch throughout the whole book, neglected her bestie, dropped her like a hot coal. Yes, what she is going through is also tough, but to just drop your bestie who LOST HER LEG and almost her life in an accident, what kind of fucked up friend are you? I would have liked things to not be resolved like that, give it more time and all.
All in all, I am in desperate need for more Maya books, I am curious what is next for her in life and what she is planning now she knows that her world can expand. It won’t be easy, but she has a great family and great friends and also great motivation and strength.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews