nickartrip102 's review for:

Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada

3.0

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Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada has been on my TBR list since I saw it pop on GoodReads, so I was excited when I discovered this on Libby through my public library. Wesley or "Big Mac '' is the titular skater boy, stomping around the halls of his high school, stealing lunch money from other kids. Appearances aren't all they seem, though. When Wes meets Tristan, a black ballet dancing queer teenager, he realizes he can't hide all the parts of himself.

I thought this book was fun! I'm not going to lie, I was initially a little put-off by Wes. I found myself growing invested in his development and well-being, however, once some of his backstory became a bit clearer. I came to appreciate the way that Nerada allows his characters complexity, Wes’ anger doesn’t come from nowhere. The author does a commendable job of handling serious issues (anger, PTSD, teenage alcoholism, domestic violence, race) in a sensitive and natural way without crossing into the melodramatic.

I’m not sure I really cared for the Wes/Tristan dynamic, to be honest. While their pairing didn’t necessarily work for me, I thought the novel really did great work depicting the relationship between Wes and his two best friends, Brad and Tony. Taking a coming out narrative and placing it in a sort of hyper-masculine and I suppose somewhat expected space really pays off well here. I found myself particularly concerned for Brad, I think the author should explore his story in a future work! And Wes’ own personal growth throughout the story was nice to see.

I said I didn’t necessarily care for the Wes/Tristan dynamic and I’ll expand on that a little. Towards the end of the book

Spoiler

it felt unrealistic for me to have Wes fly to NYC to see Tristan’s audition. Economically, this seems slightly improbable. I know there are cheap flights, but so much of Wes’ character is centered around a certain level of economic instability/poverty. I get the idea of the grand gesture, but it also felt like a step too far for Wes to take after this disappearance on Tristan’s birthday. Also, Tristan is open about being hyper aware as a result of the racial bias he experiences. It seems a little implausible, to me, he would be so cool with witnessing Wes’ meltdowns, punching a tree, showing up in NYC after yelling at him and storming away. I think maybe if the pair had an open dialogue about this, maybe the romance element would have been more palatable to me.