Skater Boy is a surprisingly sweet YA novel about self-described "punk" Wes "Big Mac" Mackenzie, who's a senior in high school and not even sure he's going to graduate, let alone go to college. He's got anger under the surface always threatening to come out, and everybody at his high school, students and teachers both, think the worst of him. Of course, it doesn't help that he's pushed his classmates around all the years he's known them.

All except his two best friends, who have a tough reputation like his. They egg each other on with pranks, ditching school, and extorting lunch money from other kids.

But then Wes's mom drags him to a performance of The Nutcracker Ballet. And the boy dancing as the Nutcracker stuns Wes with his beauty and power. Wes's feelings develop into a full-blown crush. But how can a punk get together with a rich kid who dances ballet? Wes has never dared tell anyone in his life that he's gay. But how can he be with someone if he can't even tell anyone about him?

Without giving away the plot, let's just say that things get much, much worse for Wes before they get better. But we do get a happy ending, and I couldn't be happier for Wes. Okay, it did feel a little pat - things had gotten so bad, it was a little hard to believe it could all work out. But on the other hand, that's what the reader wants for Wes, so we do end up cheering.

This is a debut novel, which makes it all the more of an achievement. Since I was never a girl who liked bad boys, the fact that the author completely won me over to Wes shows skill in portraying relatable characters. The book makes you want to look beyond tough exteriors and give everyone a chance.