SKATEBOARD TOUGH

Brett Thyson finds a skateboard buried in his new yard and suddenly can perform tricks with it that he's never even seen, much less tried. He learns that it belonged to Lance Hawker, a nationally known skateboarder who died in an accident. A friend warns Brett against riding it, but how can he stop before he's proved that he's a better skater than sneering neighbor Kyle Robinson? Christopher fluidly works his usual themes of sharp rivalry defused and personal problems handled, tied together here with an ambiguous fantasy element plus plenty of sports action and information. Four b&w illustrations capture the main characters' personalities. (Fiction. 9-11)