A review by dearhaleynicole
Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced
  • 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

This was SUCH an enjoyable read from start to finish for me! And sooo quick too. At least I zoomed through the audiobook (probably because the narration was fantastic – but we'll get to that). I pretty much immediately fell in love with Wes as our main character. He's giving "we must protect the misunderstood, angry boy at all costs" energy for me. Which I already gravitate naturally to characters like his, but Wes just had some different sort of magic to his makeup that I immediately said I need to give him a hug and just tell him everything's going to be okay, 'ya know? I really went into this book thinking it was going to be a light, queer YA romance read but boy, could I have been more wrong. It was still a wonderful ya romance, but it also did more than that. It handled some pretty heavy topics in a very approachable way that didn't lighten the gravity of said topics but also didn't bog the story down in any way that affected the pacing or storyline. Everything felt like it had it's purpose in the story and I could tell the heart Anthony put into the writing through his handling of particularly significant character events. And Wes wasn't the only lovable/relatable character to me, I felt a little for each of his friends' various experiences, which only made the story feel more genuine and well-rounded as. whole. Wes, especially, went through some pretty significant growth over the course of the book and I found myself feeling so proud of him and his journey by the book's conclusion. I also thought the romance was great and very age-appropriate to the character, which I'm just personally a big fan of in high-school setting YA. That's not to say I didn't get frustrated a few times with the "Tripod," the endearing, self-proclaimed name of Wes' tight-knight friend group. I wanted to definitely shake some sense into them a few times, but alas I'm only the reader and had to watch as they all majorly fumbled some miscommunication situations in the book.

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!
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