Thou Shalt Not Dump the Skater Dude & Other Commandments I Have Broken

by Rosemary Graham

Book Overview

Readers who love Sarah Dessen will enjoy this companion to My Not-So-Terrible Time at the Hippie Hotel Just when Kelsey is finally fitting into her new California life, C. J. Logan comes along. He's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670060178
• ISBN13: 9780670060177
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 281 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Kelsey just can't believe that her mother would decide to up and leave Boston and take Kelsey and her brother along to Berkeley, California, just so she could follow her dreams of going to law school. Except that, for her mother, it seemed like the perfect chance after the divorce was final. Sure, Kelsey may look like a character on The O.C., but she sure doesn't feel right at home in California. She just wished that her mother would have moved them after her middle school years and before her high school years. And Kelsey has good reason, since when she starts out as an 8th-grader at Susan B. Anthony, it's just way too hard to make friends. Especially when there are only twenty kids in her grade, that have known each other since forever, and have established their own cliques. But then Kelsey's life begins to pick up some momentum when she starts going out with C.J. Logan, the popular skateboarder. Yet even this doesn't feel right to Kelsey, since when dating C.J., it's all about him, all the time. So Kelsey does what any normal girl would do when it just isn't working out - she breaks up with C.J. Unfortunately, this proves costly toward her reputation. And so now Kelsey has her sights on something much bigger: becoming a reporter for her school newspaper. Well, that and a different boy to crush on. THOU SHALT NOT DUMP THE SKATER DUDE AND OTHER COMMANDMENTS I HAVE BROKEN is just full of tricks and flips that every teenager goes through. Rosemary Graham cooks up a hilarious novel that teaches us how to ignore all the drama and move on with your life by finding something else to do (getting in a little revenge along the way). Kelsey becomes a heroine to all and you just can't help but want the best for her. Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

Dumping the skater dude

C.J. Logan knows all the moves on and off the skateboard. Hand in the back pocket, whispers in the ear and hair pulling gets the girl everytime. It sure worked for Kelsey. But after a year Kelsey grows tired of playing second string to the skateboard, so she dumps him. When she comes home from summer with her dad and checks CJ's blog she finds something she never expected. He writes that he dumped her because she was a Total Sex Fiend. Of course, everyone believes C.J. and Kelsey is left to find her own idenity, who she is when she's not CJ's girlfriend.

Entertaining to read

Kelsey has just been forced to move all the way from Boston to California during the worst time in her life, the beginning of 8th grade. She completes her year at a prestigious Private all-girls school and realizes that she doesn't want to deal with snotty girls anymore. She decides to go to the public school, where she instantly gets recognized by the school celebrity, skateboarder C.J. Logan. Not long after, she becomes his girlfriend and gets to experience the perks of being popular. When Kelsey realizes that C.J. isn't putting in enough effort to be a good boyfriend, she dumps him after a year. But there's only one problem, C.J. has never been dumped before. So he spreads rumors about Kelsey around school and makes her miserable. But Kelsey tries to ignore them and becomes interested in the famed school newspaper, the Bee, and puts all her effort into making it as a journalist. When the rumors still affect her life one year later, Kelsey has to do something to stand up for herself before it's too late. I was surprised at how much I liked this book. While I feel that younger teens would enjoy this book more, it was still entertaining to read. It was refreshing to read about a character like Kelsey. The story was really interesting too, even though the concept of a high school romance is common in many young adult books these days. I'd recommend this book as a fun, easy read to take your mind off things. The ending of the story made me want to know more. I don't know if the author is planning to write a sequel, but I know that I will probably pick up any other book that she writes.

Cute read

Kelsey has just been forced to move all the way from Boston to California during the worst time in her life, the beginning of 8th grade. She completes her year at a prestigious Private all-girls school and realizes that she doesn't want to deal with snotty girls anymore. She decides to go to the public school, where she instantly gets recognized by the school celebrity, skateboarder C.J. Logan. Not long after, she becomes his girlfriend and gets to experience the perks of being popular. When Kelsey realizes that C.J. isn't putting in enough effort to be a good boyfriend, she dumps him after a year. But there's only one problem, C.J. has never been dumped before. So he spreads rumors about Kelsey around school and makes her miserable. But Kelsey tries to ignore them and becomes interested in the famed school newspaper, the Bee, and puts all her effort into making it as a journalist. When the rumors still affect her life one year later, Kelsey has to do something to stand up for herself before it's too late. I was surprised at how much I liked this book. While I feel that younger teens would enjoy this book more, it was still entertaining to read. It was refreshing to read about a character like Kelsey. The story was really interesting too, even though the concept of a high school romance is common in many young adult books these days. I'd recommend this book as a fun, easy read to take your mind off things. The ending of the story made me want to know more. I don't know if the author is planning to write a sequel, but I know that I will probably pick up any other book that she writes.

An appealing book about life after a breakup

Pretty and blond, Kelsey looks the part of the perfect popular girl. But Kelsey's life is far from perfect. She is new in town, misses her old home, and is finding it difficult to make new friends. Then she meets C. J. Logan, who is cute, popular, and a professional skateboarder. Life with C. J. is everything Kelsey imagined it to be. She finds herself part of an envied inner circle. But her entire life revolves around C. J. and his skateboarding competitions. After a romantic date interrupted by C. J. showing off his moves to some kids they meet downtown, Kelsey decides she no longer wants to live in C. J.'s shadow. She dumps him just before summer vacation, not prepared for what she will find when she returns to school the next year. Kelsey is now a misfit. None of her old friends talk to her anymore. She discovers that C. J. has posted cruel lies about her in his blog, which the entire school reads. THOU SHALT NOT DUMP THE SKATER DUDE is about how Kelsey rebuilds her life after C. J., and forges a life worth calling her own. A stand-alone companion to MY NOT-SO-TERRIBLE TIME AT THE HIPPIE HOTEL, the strongest points of the book are Kelsey's relationship with her family and with her best friend: the hipster vegan, Amy. As it spans almost three years, the book is plot-driven with less attention given to the details of Kelsey's daily life. Innocent and non-controversial, THOU SHALT NOT DUMP THE SKATER DUDE (AND OTHER COMMANDMENTS I HAVE BROKEN) is light on commandment breaking. Parents and teachers will appreciate its positive portrayal of self-esteem, while its light tone and the likable Kelsey will appeal to younger teen readers. --- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood