What do you think?
Rate this book
Tough Girl in the Jam
Set in the fast and furious world of women’s professional roller derby, "Tough Girl in the Jam" is a novel about sports, strength, and sacrifice. Nina is the lead Jammer on the Philly Freedoms. Her team is practicing for a championship bout. Her new girlfriend, Rachel, is her biggest fan. As Nina and Rachel move toward a deeper commitment and start to contemplate the shape of their lives together, Nina’s estranged father falls ill. Nina’s mother pressures Nina to donate a kidney to save him. Rachel knows that agreeing will end Nina’s derby career, and will alter their lives and plans. Each woman grapples with what it means to commit herself to a life with the other, and how their upbringings and families-of-origin impact their actions and expectations in the present. A life-threatening crisis for Nina’s father on the day of the Freedoms’ championship bout forces Nina to make the toughest play of her life. Knowing the possible consequences for herself, her father, and Rachel, she must choose the course she will take into the future. Like life itself, "Tough Girl in the Jam" is sometimes comic, sometimes serious, but always surprising.
264 pages, Paperback
Published July 21, 2019
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 22, 2019
I hate to say this but this was pretty disappointing to me. I saw the cover for this book and I was really excited to read this. I remember when I first really found out about roller derby, when I was a young adult, I was ready to move to Austin TX and get on a team. Of course the little fact that I couldn’t skate quickly ended that dream. But I still love that derby is about a bunch of women, from all different backgrounds and jobs, coming together to be a bunch of badasses. It’s fun and exhilarating to watch and I was hoping this book would be too. That was not the case at all. In fact derby itself was not very important to the book, it was almost used more metaphorically. While I am putting the sports tag on this, its sports with a very small s. This is a drama book.
I do want to make clear that Larry can write. His writing was well done. The problem I had was his story choices. Part of it was my fault; I did not go into this expecting such a depressing story. This is basically the story of someone’s life falling apart and that was not what I was looking for. I would give Larry 4 stars for his writing but only 2 stars for my actual enjoyment of the book. I had dinner with my father tonight and he asked why I had such a grumpy look on my face. I told him it’s this depressing book I’m reading and gave him the summary, he wasn’t impressed either. And to be honest I’m left almost wondering what was the point of the whole book? Whatever it was it didn’t work for me.
I’m really disappointed to say I can't recommend this book. It was well written but that is the only reason I rated this as high as I did. Maybe it was a little too cerebral for me. I think I just wanted more derby and to be honest I don’t really like reading books were nothing good or happy happens. That’s just my personal preference so your mileage may vary.
Edit to add: There was some issues with the formatting on my Kindle ARC copy that I hope gets fixed for the release.
An ARC was given to me for a honest review.
I do want to make clear that Larry can write. His writing was well done. The problem I had was his story choices. Part of it was my fault; I did not go into this expecting such a depressing story. This is basically the story of someone’s life falling apart and that was not what I was looking for. I would give Larry 4 stars for his writing but only 2 stars for my actual enjoyment of the book. I had dinner with my father tonight and he asked why I had such a grumpy look on my face. I told him it’s this depressing book I’m reading and gave him the summary, he wasn’t impressed either. And to be honest I’m left almost wondering what was the point of the whole book? Whatever it was it didn’t work for me.
I’m really disappointed to say I can't recommend this book. It was well written but that is the only reason I rated this as high as I did. Maybe it was a little too cerebral for me. I think I just wanted more derby and to be honest I don’t really like reading books were nothing good or happy happens. That’s just my personal preference so your mileage may vary.
Edit to add: There was some issues with the formatting on my Kindle ARC copy that I hope gets fixed for the release.
An ARC was given to me for a honest review.
July 19, 2019
This is a superbly told story about a semi-professional roller derby skater, her girlfriend, their relationship and a kidney. In the two months leading up to the championship roller derby bout everything starts changing for Nina and Rachel. Nina’s focus is on the derby. She eats, sleeps and lives for the practices. Rachel, who has been living with her for nearly a year, isn’t really sleeping and takes the step of finding a therapist. When Nina’s father goes into renal failure, difficult decisions need to be made and they will affect everyone involved.
Essentially, this is a novel about relationships: Nina and Rachel’s relationship with each other, their relationship to the sport, their relationships with their respective parents (and each other’s) and Rachel’s relationship with her therapist. It portrays realistic people with flawed behaviour. Written in first person from both Nina and Rachel’s points of view, the story is given so much more depth with the addition of therapist’s notes and journal entries.
I loved the portrayal of how subtly complicated relationships can be. The words that are unspoken but linger in the back of one’s mind, the way one can change behaviour or act differently to accommodate for one’s partner and how one never really knows what one’s partner is thinking unless it is actually said out loud. The ethical dilemma of whether or not to donate a kidney was thought-provoking and had me spinning round in circles so I can only imagine how difficult it must be for someone to have to make that decision.
I didn’t really know what roller derby was before this novel so I did a little research but I needn’t have. The sport, it’s history and how it works, is well-explained and really interesting. I hadn’t realised that it is a full contact sport organised and played by women. It’s definitely something I’d like to see live.
I was engaged throughout and while it is about two women in a relationship, it is not a romance.
Book received from Netgalley and Sunbury Press, Inc for an honest review.
Essentially, this is a novel about relationships: Nina and Rachel’s relationship with each other, their relationship to the sport, their relationships with their respective parents (and each other’s) and Rachel’s relationship with her therapist. It portrays realistic people with flawed behaviour. Written in first person from both Nina and Rachel’s points of view, the story is given so much more depth with the addition of therapist’s notes and journal entries.
I loved the portrayal of how subtly complicated relationships can be. The words that are unspoken but linger in the back of one’s mind, the way one can change behaviour or act differently to accommodate for one’s partner and how one never really knows what one’s partner is thinking unless it is actually said out loud. The ethical dilemma of whether or not to donate a kidney was thought-provoking and had me spinning round in circles so I can only imagine how difficult it must be for someone to have to make that decision.
I didn’t really know what roller derby was before this novel so I did a little research but I needn’t have. The sport, it’s history and how it works, is well-explained and really interesting. I hadn’t realised that it is a full contact sport organised and played by women. It’s definitely something I’d like to see live.
I was engaged throughout and while it is about two women in a relationship, it is not a romance.
Book received from Netgalley and Sunbury Press, Inc for an honest review.
August 23, 2019
First of all, there’s a lot of bait and switch advertising here. You think you’re getting a book about a woman who competes in roller derby because of the title, the cover, and the blurb but the sport is merely used as a superficial backdrop. You might possibly even believe it’s about the dynamics of organ transplant donor/recipient relationships but no again, just a flimsy gimmick that’s often wildly inaccurate and crazy in its depictions.
Instead, this book is mostly a long winded navel gazing, mansplain of what two women are going through as they get to the point where their romantic relationship either deepens into a commitment or they break up. The writer manages to backhandedly bash all of the women characters as well as utilize the “bury the gays” trope symbolically in a seemingly never ending, pretentious drone that is 280 pages long. Hokey dream imagery, mean spirited dialogue (could not even tell the mc’s apart), and tons of boring therapy sessions, just a negative tone towards women in general.
In my eyes, the biggest cardinal sin in a book is when there’s untruth in a story. I’m not talking about an unreliable narrator. I’m saying when an author purposely tells a story that is not true to its characters and narrative in order to push an agenda or bias. It almost made me cry I was so pissed as a woman who loves women, as a healthcare professional, and as someone who was fortunate enough to have a brother who gifted her a kidney. These women characters did not deserve this crap treatment. Absolutely NO on this one.
Instead, this book is mostly a long winded navel gazing, mansplain of what two women are going through as they get to the point where their romantic relationship either deepens into a commitment or they break up. The writer manages to backhandedly bash all of the women characters as well as utilize the “bury the gays” trope symbolically in a seemingly never ending, pretentious drone that is 280 pages long. Hokey dream imagery, mean spirited dialogue (could not even tell the mc’s apart), and tons of boring therapy sessions, just a negative tone towards women in general.
In my eyes, the biggest cardinal sin in a book is when there’s untruth in a story. I’m not talking about an unreliable narrator. I’m saying when an author purposely tells a story that is not true to its characters and narrative in order to push an agenda or bias. It almost made me cry I was so pissed as a woman who loves women, as a healthcare professional, and as someone who was fortunate enough to have a brother who gifted her a kidney. These women characters did not deserve this crap treatment. Absolutely NO on this one.
April 20, 2021
An intriguing attempt at an unusual story about an unusual sport...a strong protagonist with great potential. Subject matter was thought-provoking, but both narrators' voices sounded so similar that it was often difficult to distinguish. Dialogue also did not sound naturalistic to me. All in all, a worthwhile read, but felt it could have used some polishing.
September 13, 2019
LARRY LOEBELL IS MY NEW FAVORITE WRITER!!
HE TRANSFORMS ROLLER DERBY INTO GREAT LITERATURE!!
"Tough Girl in the Jam" is a delightful surprise. Who would ever expect roller derby to inspire great literature? You just are not prepared for the amazing depths of this novel's magnificence -- an unexpectedly sensitive, nuanced portrait of family crisis, psychotherapy, medical catastrophe, organ transplants, work, love-- and the aforementioned roller derby!! I am going out on a limb here to say not since Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" has a male author created such memorable and finely drawn female characters. in this case an LGBTQ couple, sensitively delineated, nuanced, and highly relatable. Acclaimed author Larry Loebell is one of those multi-talented writers -- novelist, playwright, college professor, you get the picture. Even after you finish the book, the story stays with you. Don't be a snarky LitSnob-- Give it a read. ~Jane Carnell September 13, 2019
HE TRANSFORMS ROLLER DERBY INTO GREAT LITERATURE!!
"Tough Girl in the Jam" is a delightful surprise. Who would ever expect roller derby to inspire great literature? You just are not prepared for the amazing depths of this novel's magnificence -- an unexpectedly sensitive, nuanced portrait of family crisis, psychotherapy, medical catastrophe, organ transplants, work, love-- and the aforementioned roller derby!! I am going out on a limb here to say not since Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" has a male author created such memorable and finely drawn female characters. in this case an LGBTQ couple, sensitively delineated, nuanced, and highly relatable. Acclaimed author Larry Loebell is one of those multi-talented writers -- novelist, playwright, college professor, you get the picture. Even after you finish the book, the story stays with you. Don't be a snarky LitSnob-- Give it a read. ~Jane Carnell September 13, 2019
July 21, 2019
Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews