Review: "Learning to Fall" by Peach Morris

Learning to Fall by Peach Morris
Published May 2025 via 8th Note Press
★★★★

When Casey catches her boyfriend in bed with someone else, her summer plans go up in smoke—but she almost immediately finds something much better. Before she knows it, she's training for a sport she didn't know existed, and taking spontaneous day trips, and expanding her social circle beyond what she could have imagined. But those things can't stop her anxiety at the thought of leaving her mother behind for uni in a year, and they can't tell her what to do about the feelings she's caught for a teammate.

I don't want to play roller derby (I like my osteopenic bones intact), but gosh it's fun to watch, and fun to read about. I knew from the first couple of scenes that this was going to be a good one: so many books that open with the POV character catching their partner in bed with someone else immediately spiral off into drama and bad decisions, and I loved seeing Casey be so...rational about it, I guess. Not happy, but rational. Seriously underrated, that.

Other things that are nice to see: how matter-of-fact Casey is about taking care of her mother. Chronic illness that's presented in a way that just is—not a good thing, and sometimes a source of worry, but not a source of drama. A romance that goes in unexpected directions. I don't want to say too much about the plot or the various sources of tension, because they're better unfolding as you go, but this is an excellent addition to the slowly growing library of roller derby books out there, and an excellent debut.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.