How to Roller-Skate with One Leg

Some really awful things can happen while you are impersonating a Maths teacher. Maya Bright, mid-impression of her Maths teacher, didn’t see the van coming, which caused her to become a below-the-knee amputee of her right leg.

The book really begins a year later at the start of Year 8, when Maya is returning to school for the first time, with a prosthetic limb. She has lost a large amount of mobility. Her best friend since the age of four, is no longer talking to her, reason initially unknown, and she has lost most of her confidence. She no longer wants to stand out.

How will she cope with this new reality and her parents’ new fears and new protectiveness of her?

In this deeply moving, thought provoking, and often funny, own voices debut, Ella Dove explores these questions. What elevates this book is the way Dove shows the reader the nuances of Maya’s emotions towards her leg, towards other people and towards herself.

The reader is given direct insight into Maya’s interior world, and will be rooting for her, her family and friends, from page one. A sequel is already on the cards and this reviewer is anticipating it eagerly.