Skater Boy

In this YA pop punk debut about queer romance and destroying labels, a teen risks everything to write his own story. Perfect for fans of Sonora Reyes and Adib Khorram.

Stonebridge High’s resident bad boy, Wesley “Big Mac” Mackenzie, is failing senior year—thanks to his unchecked anger, rowdy friends, and a tendency to ditch his homework for skateboarding and a secret photography obsession. So when his mom drags him to a production of The Nutcracker, Wes isn’t interested at all . . . until he sees Tristan Monroe. Mr. Nutcracker himself.

Wes knows he shouldn’t like Tristan; after all, he’s a ballet dancer, and Wes is as closeted as they come. But when they start spending time together, Wes can’t seem to get Tristan out of his head. Driven by a new sense of purpose, Wes begins to think that—despite every authority figure telling him otherwise—maybe he can change for the better and graduate on time.

As a falling out with his friends becomes inevitable, Wes realizes that being himself means taking a stand—and blowing up the bad-boy reputation he never wanted in the first place.

From a debut author to watch, Skater Boy delivers a heart-wrenching, validating, and honest story about what it means to be gay in a world where you don’t fit in.

Anthony Nerada became a writer after his fifth-grade teacher told him it was his destiny. Since then, he’s read too many books (if there is such a thing) and explored worlds far outside the reaches of his own. Anthony holds a BA in psychology and two diplomas (one in public relations, the other in publishing), which allow him to write the day away while simultaneously psychoanalyzing his friends. Anthony lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Coast Salish Peoples. Skater Boy is his debut novel.

“Realistic and heartfelt.”
—The Bay Area Reporter

“Wes is discovering who he actually is, which is not the person people expect him to be. He never wanted to be a bad boy in the first place. He was put in that role by bad luck and was following the easiest route. Not only does this story show an authentic evolution of character, a beautiful coming of age, but it shows that there are lots of ways to be gay. This is so worth reading.”
—The News-Gazette

“Skater Boy is a book for kids who may see themselves on the outside of Queer stereotypes.”
—Seattle Gay News

“He was a punk (with a secret soft center). Skater Boy is a perceptive, vividly emotional, complicated love story, told with candor and compassion. Can I make it any more obvious that you should drop everything and read it?”
—Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda