DEMON DERBY by Carrie Harris

Casey has always liked to kick ass.  Her hobbies are skateboarding, freerunning, and martial arts.  She has devoted her life to taking risks and making her mark. Unfortunately, instead of becoming renown for her accomplishments in one of her chosen sports, she has become known as the girl who survived cancer.


Having won her battle with leukemia, Casey is ready to resume normal life and reconnecting with her dare devil friends.  Not being at her peak physically is causing some tension as she attempts to rejoin the gang.  When a few of her stunts fall short of the mark, everyone rushes to her rescue, cautions that maybe she isn't ready, and some even question if she should be participating at all.


Upon her return to the dojo, Casey connects with Darcy.  Never really close before, Darcy's excitement about Casey's return is encouraging.  As they chat, Darcy mentions the upcoming tryouts for a local roller derby team.  She begs Casey to join her in trying to nab the two openings on the team.  Darcy sees it as her chance to get back her edge and becomes excited about the prospect of reinventing her rough and tumble life.


As tryouts get underway, Casey is not surprised by how difficult it is physically, but she is concerned about the negative attitude several of the team members have toward her efforts to make the team.  Maybe it has something to do with the incredibly attractive coach named Michael and his obvious interest in her.  She wants to become a part of the group for the thrill of skating, but a powerful attraction to Michael also has her inspired to make the team.  Michael becomes even more attentive after Casey has an unusual encounter with a strange man outside the practice facility.  It is evident that some power beyond Casey's comprehension is at work pulling the two of them together.


Author Carrie Harris's snarky, sarcastic tone is perfect for this fast-paced paranormal adventure.  Although the paranormal nature of the piece has Casey battling demons, she is also fighting the very real fears of overprotective friends and family, as well as her own fears that she didn't deserve to beat a disease that usually claims the lives of so many.  The experience of reading DEMON DERBY has me eager to check out Carrie Harris's other books soon.