Skater Boy

De: Anthony Nerada

Narrado por: Michael Crouch

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.

“A poignant unraveling of the binds spun by toxic masculinity. Skater Boy kept me rooting for the disaster boy to find his way.”—Xiran Jay Zhao, New York Timesbestselling author of Iron Widow

©2024 Anthony Nerada (P)2024 Recorded Books

Excellent debut!

Can’t say enough good things about this book! I loved the story and fell in love with the characters….I never wanted it to end. I will definitely look for more from Anthony Nerada. As for the narration, Michael Crouch could read the dictionary and make it sound great. 5 stars!

great story

really great coming of age story with a relatable, but very flawed main character. all aspects of the story felt genuine and really was a blast to listen to. Michael crouch as always delivers a great preformance

Man I loved this book

Wesley and Tristan I loved the ending where they discover they are more than there labels and are able to accept each other’s flaws.

he was photographer and he was street dancer

it's a drama but that's okay the main book of this story wasn't really his relationship with Tristan it was a big part but the main focus was him and his friends and people he met realizing and accepting things

True-istic. Relatable.

I am an old guy now but, this story is, in many ways, my story. Enjoyable in the realism and the humor. Recognizable in the fears. Satisfying in the overall story.

The pure emotion you feel is amazing

I felt like I was inside Wes’s head with the narration and the way the story was written in general. It showed great lengths of self discovery as well as portraying love guilt and past trauma in a way that it’s hard to describe. I listened to this book for 4 hours straight because of the hook it had on me. It gives you the feels from having you feel the butterflies in Wesley’s stomach to feeling the gut wrenching feeling of having the weight of his and his mother’s trauma carried on his back. Overall I think the character deudor each character was amazing and well thought through. I already want to re read it. Highly recommend!

Good, if not Predictable

I did enjoy this book as I am a fan of LGBTQIA+ YA. A good story of “finding oneself”, if not predictably. I have listened to many stories narrated by Michael Crouch… he’s a good narrator… but he always sounds so sad!

fantastic!!!

great from start to finish. finished in a day! another great narration from amazing Michael Crouch!

Let’s give the boy a hand!

Bravo to this master piece! I applaud this up and coming author. I was equally spellbound by the voice actor and his performance. I literally could not stop listening to this, I wanted to savor every last minute of this story. I loved the cautionary tale of the damage labels can do to us and how our anger and rage can overwhelm us. This novel made me understand how important it is for young men to give voice to their feelings,fears for there is nothing worse than to suffer in silence.

Wow. Just wow. I was not expecting these levels of feels.

The cover art and title of this book are misleading in that I was expecting maybe a YA novel with surface level character development and a basic romance plot. My goodness was I wrong! This is one of the most hit you in the heart kind of stories I've listened to in a very long time. The main character feels genuine and I can absolutely see myself reflected in so many aspects of his malfunctions. The difficulties he goes through in identifying based on how he feels and the expectations, society, his family, his friends, and even he puts on himself hit so close to home. This is an absolutely wonderful coming of age story. The romance aspect of it is really in the background. More in the forefront are how the MC overcomes titanic levels of grief, trauma, and fear to finally arrive at who he is and, more importantly, who he wants to be. I absolutely recommend this book to any one looking for a genuinely heartfelt story about love and life.