Skate by Michael Harmon

Fighting the system was fine, he said, but fighting it the right way was key.

Michael Harmon has, to date, written three novels. I have read each of these novels precisely in the opposite order in which he wrote them. That was entirely unintentional, but that was they way it worked out.

In having said that, I have enjoyed each of his novels equally. Mr. Harmon knows how to speak from the perspective of a teenager who feels different from the world around him and like everyone has turned against him. Each of his heroes (or -- in the case of his third novel, Brutal -- heroine) gives the reader a clear view of what it's like to be ostracized for being different and how there is always a way for that very person to rise above it all and be the hero of their own story.

Skate chronicles the story of Ian McDermott, a teenager whose home life is already hard enough when the certain members of the school faculty decide to turn against him. Ian is known for having a propensity to talk back and speak his mind. He's no stranger to conflict because he has earned tough skin in his short, yet challenging, life.

But one day, he takes it too far and his entire world seems to come crashing down around him. The only option he feels he has is to run away with his younger brother in an effort to find their father, hoping he might have a way to right the wrongs that have been committed by and against them.

Skate is one of those books where the characters are real. Everything about it makes you feel like this could easily happen. This could easily be you or someone you know. Mr. Harmon's poignant writing about the woes of a broken and damaged society hits right where it ought. It's a good read and one that will get you thinking. I'm definitely a fan.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

"Because something terribly wrong happened here, and it's not all your fault. I'm not giving up on this. Or you."