*I was sent an ARC of (S)Kin in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to HarperCollins and Ibi Zoboi for my copy of the book*
Synopsis:
Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.… While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past—her mother.
Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies’ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn’t even thought to ask.
But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.
Review:
I’ve never read a novel in verse before so I was excited to check out (S)Kin. Unfortunately, I don’t think this style is for me. I can definitely see the beauty in a book written this way. (S)Kin is poetic and lyrical, but I found it to be really disjointed. I’m generally not a fan of poetry so this is entirely a me problem–I was trying to broaden my horizons but all I’ve done is further prove that poetry isn’t for me.
The actual story of (S)Kin was interesting. I’m so intrigued by the folklore that I want to read more about it. I love how powerful the women came across and how they were aware of this. Marisol often felt less than when comparing herself to Genevieve, but she knows the power she holds and I think that was beautiful.
I understood completely what the structure of the end chapters were trying to do but the formatting didn’t work too well on a Kindle. Unless they were supposed to be unreadable, but I don’t imagine that was the case. The bits that I did read while skimming the page to get an idea of what was going on were beautifully written. The actual ending of this book is pretty frustrating though. You’re left with more questions than answers and events that should have huge consequences seem to be brushed off easily. I think making this book just a little longer so they could explore this new way of life (all I’m giving away about what happens) would have made (S)Kin a much better read.
I think (S)Kin is a book that a lot of people will enjoy but it just wasn’t for me. It’s a quick read at less than 200 pages with most of these being half full with text and the folklore that inspired it is really interesting.
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