Reviews

Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim

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s0on_'s review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

sourbutchkid's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I decided to read this because I watched the movie a few weeks ago and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Watching it left me with a feeling I had never had before and the book left me with a very similar feeling. I think this story, as brutal and devastating and uncomfortable as it is, has stuck with me because of the realistic, flawed humanity of the characters, and the tenderness that carries through their interactions with each other in certain moments. The way this book is written is very beautiful and descriptive in general, and there were some lines that I absolutely loved. It really helped to ground you in the universe and in the characters. I really enjoyed that the chapters weren’t just from Brian and Neil’s POV’s and that we got to learn about the other people in their lives. I liked reading Eric’s chapters a lot because he wasn’t fleshed out as much in the movie.

I’d like to think the ending of the book was hopeful, and that the conversation Neil and Brian had is the beginning of them both healing from the abuse they had experienced. I’d like to think Brian finally knowing what happened to him can open to the door to him recovering, and that Neil can start fully understanding that what happened to him was wrong.

I think this book toes the line at being exploitative at times (I can understand someone disliking it because of this), but I think overall the attention to making Neil and Brian’s reactions to abuse so incredibly realistic communicates to me that it’s not meant to be harmful (but that’s just my opinion). This story and these characters have left a mark on me, and I think I’ll have it for a very long time. Maybe for the rest of my life.

Content Warnings

hadestorm's review against another edition

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5.0

this book ripped my heart out of my body, threw it on the floor, stomped on it, spat on it, then put it back in its place.

kleine_e's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

metalmakubex's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

melonfizz's review

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4.0

“It was a light that shone over our faces, our wounds and scars. It was a light so brilliant and white it could have been beamed from heaven, and Brian and I could have been angels, basking in it. But it wasn’t, and we weren’t.”