Shred Girls: Lindsay's Joyride by Molly Hurford (Shred Girls #1)

Shred Girls: Lindsay's Joyride by Molly Hurford is the first in a middle grade series about three girls who are into competitive bike riding. Lindsay is 12 years old, painfully shy, has a passion for comic books, and wants to be a superhero. She's decided to spend her summer studying up on what it takes to be a superhero and training in her basement. But, her parents have other plans. 

When Lindsay's parents tell her they're going overseas to work and she will be spending part of her summer living with her cousin, Phoebe, she's nervous. Phoebe has loads of piercings and tattoos. Lindsay's pretty sure she's a supervillain. But, once she arrives at Phoebe's apartment, she starts to realize that tattoos and piercings have nothing to do with character. 

Phoebe works at Joyride, an indoor BMX biking facility, and she wants to share the joy she herself has gained from learning BMX tricks. So, Phoebe talks Lindsay into letting her train Lindsay, along with a couple other girls her age, Jen and Ali. Lindsay is so shy that she's nervous about even talking to them, but Phoebe was just like Lindsay at 12 — so shy that she often spent her time reading to avoid social interaction. Can Phoebe help Lindsay make new friends and learn the joy of biking? When a jumping competition is held at Joyride, will Phoebe be able to talk Lindsay into joining in? What will happen when they find out there won't be a separate competition for girls so the girls will have to compete against the boys?

OK, this is going to be a hard book to review because it wasn't quite what I expected. I thought it was going to be a little heavier on the girl power, maybe more humorous, and less about the technical concept of training for a BMX competition. And, with apologies to the author, I simply did not like the writing style. I found it a little too wordy and exhausting. Because I was committed to doing a book tour post, I went ahead and forced myself to keep reading. I usually try to avoid doing that because I've found that if I'm not enjoying the reading, I generally end up hating a book. 

Surprise! I didn't hate it, in the end. I didn't love it because it didn't work for me, stylistically speaking, but that's a personal thing so I wouldn't tell anyone not to read it. And, as I read the book I found myself thinking that if I was younger and had access to a facility with something to prevent injury like the foam pit in Shred Girls, I might have really enjoyed learning how to do the bike tricks Phoebe trains the girls to do. So, in the end, I thought it was a very positive story and worth recommending.

Recommended but not a favorite - Recommended particularly for girls who need a little encouragement to try something different and those interested in either comics or BMX biking. It's also a very uplifting read for girls who have a bit of social anxiety as it kind of walks the reader through what it's like to take a chance on friendship if she's terrified of meeting new people. 

I received a copy of Shred Girls: Lindsay's Joyride in return for an honest review. Many thanks! 


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