Skin Deep

An angry teenager is sucked into a gang of neo-Nazis

Dan shows up on his first day at a new school with long blond hair, John Lennon glasses, and a shy grin that makes every girl in the hallway swoon. But he only has eyes for Laurel, who’s in his English class. Laurel stirs feelings in Dan that he never knew existed, and suddenly, he understands love. Soon, he will understand hate as well.
 
When a gang of violent young men invades the annual Halloween party, most of Laurel’s friends stay away. The men are white supremacists with shaved heads, steel-toed boots, and a look in their eyes that says they’re ready to fight. But something in their attitude draws Dan toward them. He’s angry at the world, and these skinheads seem to understand how he feels. As he sinks deeper into their twisted world of hate and rage, Dan risks losing not only Laurel, but also his soul.
 
 

Lois Ruby is the author of 18 books for middle graders and teens, including Steal Away Home, Miriam’s Well, The Secret of Laurel Oaks, Rebel Spirits, Skin Deep, and The Doll Graveyard. Her fiction runs the gamut from contemporary to historical and from realistic to paranormal. An ex-librarian, Ruby now writes full-time, in addition to speaking to bookish groups, presenting at writing workshops, and touting literacy and the joys of nourishing, thought-provoking reading in schools across the country. Ruby and her husband live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.