THOU SHALT NOT DUMP THE SKATER DUDE

This seemingly light coming-of-age story begins with young and immature Kelsey, daughter of wealthy divorced parents, reluctantly moving to San Francisco where she struggles to fit in at her exclusive school. When she enters a more open high school, she almost inadvertently becomes the girlfriend of C.J., a moderately famous skateboarding champion. The romance, however, consists almost entirely of watching C.J. skate and passionate make-out sessions. Kelsey decides to break off the relationship, whereupon C.J. trashes her on the Internet. Kelsey now has to deal not only with being unpopular, but must cope with the fact that virtually everyone believes C.J.’s lies about her. As she learns to stand up for herself, the story becomes deeper and even suspenseful. Graham delivers a sensitive, in-depth exploration of an initially shallow girl who grows into independence, belying the ultra-light title. A very nice job indeed. (Fiction. 12-14)