Trish's world is instantly relatable - no wonder, since its economics replicate those on earth. If she bobbles a ball occasionally, at least she doesn't slip off the tightrope. Abel manages to make this economic parable consistently engaging, even if its basic elements are familiar. Trish Trash isn't just a sports story and a coming-of-age tale it's also a masterful critique of capitalism. What's really amazing about Abel's performance, though, is that she pulls it off while juggling a few different agendas. Her years of experience as a visual storyteller serve her well in this young-adult saga about a Martian girl who competes in her planet's version of roller derby.

Jessica Abel treads assuredly in Trish Trash: Rollergirl of Mars.

It's a miracle, really, that any would-be worldbuilder ever places a trembling foot on the line. And yet the penalty for a single stumble is horrifying: Beneath that wavering rope lies the quicksand of readerly scorn. It's ill-defined (what makes something believable, anyway?), badly designed (it changes according to the perceptions of each individual reader, notoriously flaky though such perceptions may be) and invisible to the walker (who must intuit its arc from clues). Science fiction always perches on a tightrope of believability, and that tightrope is no fun place to stand. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title Trish Trash Subtitle Rollergirl of Mars Author Jessica Abel

Trish Trash #2 by Jessica Abel