Growing up in the ’90s and early 2000s, 10-year-old Anthony Nerada would sing along in the family car to the top hits playing on the radio. His parents and siblings would sing too, creating a mini theatre within the vehicle.
But what his family didn’t notice was Nerada singing quieter so he could secretly change the pronouns to the lyrics in the song.
“I couldn’t have known what I was doing, but I like to think my debut novel Skater Boy was born in that moment,” wrote Nerada in the book’s note to readers.
The Langley resident’s debut novel doesn’t only challenge societal labels people are put into, but also gives voice to perspectives we don’t often see, he said.
The story follows Wes, the main character who is put into the “punk bad boy” category, who develops feelings for ballet dancer Tristan and is driven to engage on journey of self discovery – and writing his own story.
“In Wes, I wanted to write a character who unapologetically shows his emotions. Who never questions who he is,” wrote Nerada.
His writing career had a rocky, decade-long start leading up to the release of Skater Boy on Feb. 6.
After a Grade 5 teacher gave a class assignment to write a story reinventing a fairy tale from a different character’s perspective, Nerada continued to write stories in his free time. When he graduate high school, he stayed up late after university classes and work hours to write out his ideas.
“I always sympathize with the villains, and [wondered] why that person is so evil. What makes her tick? What led them to this point in life?” Nerada told the Langley Advance Times, noting this was a common theme in his stories.
His idea for Skater Boy was solidified on a road trip with his partner in 2019, when Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi” came on the radio.
“He was a boy, She was a girl, Can I make it any more obvious? He was a punk, She did ballet, What more can I say?” are the opening lyrics of the 2002 song.
Nerada realized he was changing the pronouns in the lyrics, like he did as a child, and realized there was a story to be told.
“I wanted to flip the script on a lot of things. Yes, he’s a punk. Yes, the other one does ballet. But what else is going on there? For my main character, Wes, what really drives him is that the labels ‘punk’ and ‘gay’ don’t really tell his whole story. So, how does he explore that? How does he reconcile the differences he feels inside and display that to a world that is constantly telling him who he is?”
Wes was a tricky character to write, Nerada said, because he’s a character readers should sympathize with but he’s the classic character people tend to hate.
“I want you to have mixed feelings about Wes because I want you to understand his story as it goes through each chapter,” Nerada said.
“Closeted queer people, regardless of if you think your parents are going to be supportive of you, there’s always that voice in the back of your head that’s going to be like, ‘What if they don’t? What will happen to me and my life if I don’t have the support that I thought I did.’ It can be very tough.”
Wes is presented as a failing student with anger issues, but Nerada said it’s all part of him trying to find himself and the core of who he is.
Nerada said he hopes people gain an understanding of the impact labels can have on others, especially in their teenage years when people are trying to figure out who they are.
“You really don’t know what’s going on in everyone’s life until you get to really know someone. So, if anything, I want people to learn to love Wes, and I hope they do love Wes, as they go through this journey with him through the book,” he said.
Skater Boy is available for pre-order, but Nerada will be at the Langley Indigo on Feb. 6 for the book’s release at 7 p.m. to kick off his book tour.
“I wrote Skater Boy as much for myself as I did for the queer kids on the outskirts of what society defines as ‘acceptably gay,’ the ones who are angry and hurt and filled with emotions they can’t quite put a name to,” reads Nerada’s note to readers.
“To that closeted kid in the back of his family’s car, I want you to know that this one’s for you. Your voice deserves to be heard.”
Langley Indigo is located at 20015 Langley Bypass.
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