Skim - Softcover

Mariko Tamaki

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1406321362 ISBN 13: 9781406321364

Publisher: Walker Childrens Paperbacks, 2009

Synopsis

After a boy at school takes his own life, teen-witch Skim's fragile world seems to topple and turn upside down too. In witty, moving and painfully honest diary entries Skim confides the frenzy of grief that surrounds her, while deep down she struggles with her own loneliness and the secret inner stirrings she feels when falling in love for the first time.

About this title

About the Author

Mariko Tamaki is a Toronto-based writer, performer and playwight. She is a columnist for Kiss Machine and the author of Cover Me, True Lies: A Book of Bad Advice and Fake ID. Jillian Tamaki grew up in Alberta and currently lives and works in New York, where her clients include the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, the Walrus, Macleans and the Village Voice. She has received a number of awards for her editorial illustrations, including a National Magazine Award, and her work has appeared in the American Illustration and Communication Arts annuals. Her first book, Gilded Lilies, was nominated for a Doug Wright Award in the Best Book category.

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up–Kimberly Keiko Cameron–aka Skim–is a mixed-race high school student struggling with identity, friendships, and romantic yearning. After her parents' divorce, she turns to tarot cards and Wicca to make sense of life but finds herself disappointed with the lack of answers they provide. She finds herself increasingly intrigued by Ms. Archer, her free-spirited English teacher. Her interest becomes obsessive and it begins to drive a wedge between her and her best friend, Lisa. Although Skim originally makes light of the half-hearted suicide attempts of popular Katie, whose ex-boyfriend committed suicide, the two of them begin to open up to one another. Skim soon realizes that perfect Katie is far funnier, more genuine, and more traumatized than she originally thought–particularly when it comes to light that John shot himself due to his homosexuality. Drawn in an expressive, fluid style and with realistic dialogue, this work accurately depicts the confusion of teenage years, with its rejection of previous identity and past relationships and search for a newer and truer identity; additionally, insider/outsider status is a reoccurring theme. Skim's internal monologue is diarylike, with an interesting use of scratched-out words. This is a good but somewhat standard work.–Dave Inabnitt, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
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About this edition

• Publisher: Walker Childrens Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1406321362
• ISBN 13: 9781406321364
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144