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jerrysaywhaaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This book felt like it was written by one of the following people (or a combination of all of them):
1. Someone who either wanted to be or wanted to be with a punk bad boy in high school, but in a very “I can fix him” way.
2. A school counselor (think Mr. Frond from Bob’s Burgers) who really wanted to connect with the youths and show the importance of therapy.
3. A writer on Glee who was mad this script was rejected for an episode.
Although I think a lot of topics covered in this book are important to discuss, I don’t think it was done well and the bad parts of the book heavily outweigh the good parts. The author added a lot of weird and extra details to the story; had a pretty shaky and at times inconsistent timeline for the story; and sometimes felt like they had no sense of reality and actual consequences for character’s actions.
The story has too perfect an ending to wrap everything up too quickly (which is surprising with how slow and boring the first half of the book is).
And one *minor* spoiler that I need to rant about:
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, and Mental illness
Minor: Transphobia
luvey_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cursing, and Bullying
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
Minor: Racism
vagaybond's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Car accident, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Bullying, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Drug use, Sexual harassment, and Physical abuse
Minor: Racism and Classism
The protagonist's abusive father (who was/is a cop) chased the protagonist and his mother in a car, bumping the fender multiple times and driving the two of them off a cliff. The protagonist was 7 and was disabled by it, both with a leg issue and with PTSD triggered once in the book, by driving at night.imstephtacular's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol and Alcoholism
Moderate: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Cursing, Violence, Homophobia, Bullying, Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Classism
Minor: Grief, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Outing, Racism, Medical content, and Deadnaming
azllyz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence and Bullying
Moderate: Homophobia and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Car accident, and Domestic abuse
lettuce_read's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Bullying
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Car accident, and Homophobia
Minor: Child abuse
fanboyriot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Bullying, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Addiction, Racism, Car accident, Child abuse, and Homophobia
dearhaleynicole's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Also, I would be SO remiss if I didn't mention that I specifically listened to this in audiobook format and WOW! The writing was already great (Go Anthony Nerada!) but then Michael Crouch (the audiobook narrator) just brought Wes' character to life for me! His voice acting in this role probably accounts for a strong portion of why I love Wes so much in this book. He felt so genuine and real to me.
Overall, I'm really happy that this book exists out in the universe and had a great time reading would highly recommend to anyone in the market for a fresh MM YA romance read set in high school or maybe just something to satisfy that urge to go back to an emo version of yourself from high school (if this applies to your experience ofc).
P.S. I believe others have said it in previous reviews, but I couldn't get enough of the chapter titles! They were fantastic and something I looked forward at the start of each chapter 🥹
Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review in exchange for an honest review!
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Child abuse, Car accident, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
kimschouwenaar's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Kicking my feet and squealing in adoration of this book.
This book ticks every single box I look for in an honest coming-of-age and coming out story. Anthony Nerada transforms a misunderstood bully into a believable protagonist and grants this generation with a heartbreaking character arc that I was missing when I was growing up.
Wesley 'Big Mac' Mackenzie is a punk: skateboarding through his high school's halls, failing all his classes and always getting into trouble. That's all people see when they look at him. Inside, however, he is full of anxiety, and pent-up anger no one ever taught him to address makes him terrified he is turning into his father. People expect him to fall into a stereotype and so he does. And honestly, who can blame him?
But the story Nerada wrote is about defying stereotypes and creating your own narrative rather than falling into the one adults write for you. It was heart-wrenching to see Wes struggle with himself, unable to allow anyone entrance into the fortress he'd built to protect himself, agonising to read how he fully believed he was no better than his father (whom you'll have to learn about yourselves because it contains major spoilers).
My own worst enemy is me.
Wes is a teenager through and through, but he is also a senior in high school. With teachers and a guidance counsellor pestering him about grades and college, his first instinct is to ignore them all and close himself off. Gradually, he begins to realise that's not what he wants, which is followed by a convincing coming-of-age story including coming out.
There is romance, but it is not as central to the plot as Wes's story is. That isn't to say that I didn't love it because I certainly did. For me, it simply faded a little into the background compared to everything else Wes was dealing with.
In Skater Boy, Wes defies all stereotypes and I will love him forever for it.
I was a punk, he did ballet.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Car accident and Injury/Injury detail
nthnrgb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Child abuse, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail