An inspiring book about someone who tried so hard to be seen for who they wanted to be. I read this on July 4th, Independence Day and that seems the perfect day to have done so. Positive examples of being successful are very important.

I love the Pocket Change Collective books so much! Rtc

Thank you to Penguin Teen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.Skate for Your Life follows nonbinary skater Leo Baker on their journey of exploring gender identity and expression and how that affected their life as a professional skateboarder. This book hit me so hard with one question that's repeated often for Leo: Are you a boy or girl? This question is just so ugh. Why are there only two options? Throughout this book, I felt Leo's frustration with being for...

“The importance of feeling at home in one’s body is a universal truth.”I mean, wowzers. The gender divide in sports has always been VERY clear, but how do sports progress when it comes to trans and nonbinary individuals? Leo Baker tackles that divide in the skateboarding world and reminds us that we still have so far to go in making everyone welcome and accepted for who they are in the sports world.

These are short personal essays for a teen audience, published in a pocketbook format; this one is the second one I've impulse borrowed from my local public library. It was an interesting read!Leo Baker is a pro skater who's a trans masc nonbinary person; they came out while already a pro skater and experienced negative consequences from sponsors etc. that they describe in the book. But they didn't go back into the closet and ultimately it worked out better for them. They talk a lot about how wo...

Leo Baker is a trans masculine professional skateboarder who asks the question, “Why are there only two choices when it comes to being a boy or a girl?” As a kid, LB was often labeled a tomboy. Interesting background about the professional skating world. Another great addition to the Pocket Change Collective.

Be you.Leo gives a lot of insight on the issues in almost all sports especially when I comes to equality not only for women but those of the transgender community. We need brands and sponsors to be more inclusive to all types of people and their identities. I thought it was very inspiring to read how Leo is trying to change the community around him and impact those who have the love of skateboarding as well.

Packs a lot of good information and story into a very efficient tale.

A story about a queer skater from Covina is just a little more resonant when you're reading it as a queer person from Covina. It's a boring place here and it's kinda inspiring how someone was able to find themself and find hope and joy in what they love.I don't know... this just hits different, in a good way.

I feel like I'm running out of things to say to praise the Pocket Change Collective books! Again, this was succinct, personal, highly quotable, and read like a TED talk. Now I want to find out more about skate culture in general and Leo Baker specifically.

Q: Are you a boy or a girl?A: Does it matter?Baker recounts what it was like to blaze a trail in the skating world when you are not a cisgender male and you want to skate on your own terms.

Leo Baker is a talented skateboarder who battled against those in their sport who tried to keep them from living life as it was meant to be lived. For some time Leo followed the dictates of those who funded skateboarding and encouraged them to show off a feminine hairstyle and clothing. Eventually, though, Leo realized that being true to themself was what mattered, thus, beginning to perform on their own terms. I enjoyed the descriptions of the competitions in which Leo participated as well as a...

A short but super interesting autobiography about a skating champion who has to battle gender norm expectations as they navigate through life trying to live their true selves.

I was provided a digital ARC from the publisher. All opinions are honest and my own. "My authenticity has never been a burden. It is my superpower"- Leo Baker. This quickly became my favorite book as I sobbed reading this. I advocate for trans people in sports very hard and I really saw myself in Leo's story as a trans man who's childhood and teenage years were spent watching my male friends skateboard. I'd pull all-nighters watching MTV's Scarred until 6 am at the age of 12. I had always consu

I’m rating this higher than I thought I would. Maybe because I don’t really care about skateboarding it was difficult for this book in the pocket change collective to hold my interest. But it give great insight into misogyny in sports, and the roles women are expected to play. I love that the author Leo Baker found a way to stay true to themselves even if it took time to get there, and one quote in particular really hit home for me. Reading it was when I decided to add a star to my rating. ‘It’s...

I am such a huge fan of the Pocket Change Collective series and I think every middle school and high school libraries should carry them. They're basically long essays about experiences specific to the person writing about it. In Skate for Your Life, Leo Baker shares their story falling in love with skateboarding at a young age, pursuing it as a career and the obstacles it presented to them as gender-queer nonbinary person.

Such a great and honest look into the path to doing what you love for the reason you love it and learning to be comfortable with being yourself and feeling comfortable forcing others to see you as yourself as well. I found this books really moving. Thank you to Penguin Teen for my copy.

Baker reveals the sexism and lack of inclusivity that she faced in the Skate industry when she was a pro "female" skater. I learned something new, and as with all of the books in this series, it's enjoyable to meet new people and hear about their passions.

“So, back to that eternal question – are you a boy or a girl? Does it even matter?” Great insight into the backstory of Leo Baker, struggling to grow up and portray themselves authentically as they are in a predominantly cis male industry (Skateboarding with a capital S), whilst paving the way for females, queers and anyone not subscribing to society’s standards.

I didn’t know who Leo Baker was before reading this, but it was so interesting to learn more about skateboarding and his life. I did notice a few comma/typographical errors in the book, which was surprising to me (haven’t seen that in other Pocket Change Collective books).