STUDENT WRITER NOLA LAWTON RECOMMENDS SKATER BOY BY ANTHONY NERADA
Skater Boy is an emotional coming-of-age book, telling the story of Wesley McKenzie as he navigates friendships, homelife, and his sexuality. Wesley begins the book as your stereotypical “bad boy”. He gets into fights at school, he’s failing all his classes, and he’s having a hard time adjusting to his mom’s new boyfriend. Then he meets Tristan. Tristan is the complete opposite of Wesley. He does ballet, cares about school, and most importantly, he’s openly a part of the LGBT community. When Wesley meets Tristan, he’s inspired to clean up his act and finally be himself. But this is proven easier said than done over the course of the novel. Throughout the book, Wesley faces many challenges as he gets his life together and learns how to accept himself.
I personally enjoyed reading this book. I don’t usually read “romance” novels, but I found this book to be clever and well-paced. It was a perfect blend between romantic, comical, and coming-of-age. I often find myself losing interest in books halfway through, not captivated by the story enough to continue reading. But when reading Skater Boy, I found myself unable to put it down. The story was both intriguing and suspenseful, and the book took me less than a week to finish reading. I would recommend Skater Boy for a teenaged or young adult audience. Though the book is entirely PG, the topics covered are aimed more towards teens and young adults than kids.
Nola Lawton is an emerging author of fiction and short stories. She is yet to be published, and continuously works to perfect her writing style. Nola lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick with her family. She loves animals, art, and playing Cello.