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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
I was inspired to read this after watching the film, not having realised it was based on a book prior to that.
The book tackles a very difficult issue in a refreshing blunt and straight forward manner. There's no real sidestepping the difficult issues, covering everything from paedophilia to sexual health, prostitution and rape, but it never feels like a book trying to get by based on shock and controversy alone.
Neil is a wonderful character, with many different facets and his development throughout the book is one of the highlights. Brian is a little more difficult, harder to like to begin with, but easily the most emotive journey throughout the book, leading to a heart-wrenching conclusion that perfectly fits the mood and story of the book, without trying to be too grand and elaborate. The book is blunt, but understated, and that's the real joy, though I'd definitely advise reading the book before the film - quite a lot is changed and I feel like my response to some of the characters (Eric especially) was changed, and potentially not in a good way, by watching the film first.
The book tackles a very difficult issue in a refreshing blunt and straight forward manner. There's no real sidestepping the difficult issues, covering everything from paedophilia to sexual health, prostitution and rape, but it never feels like a book trying to get by based on shock and controversy alone.
Neil is a wonderful character, with many different facets and his development throughout the book is one of the highlights. Brian is a little more difficult, harder to like to begin with, but easily the most emotive journey throughout the book, leading to a heart-wrenching conclusion that perfectly fits the mood and story of the book, without trying to be too grand and elaborate. The book is blunt, but understated, and that's the real joy, though I'd definitely advise reading the book before the film - quite a lot is changed and I feel like my response to some of the characters (Eric especially) was changed, and potentially not in a good way, by watching the film first.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a very dark, sad read. I don’t know if I found the additional POVs outside of Neil, Eric, Wendy, and Brian necessary. I also had a hard time finding Neil likable, despite what he went through. I did really like Brian and Eric though. I found the ‘mystery’ very obvious, so I wasn’t sure if I would classify it as a mystery novel. This deals with very hard-to-read topics and is not for everyone.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“I wanted to create something profound, something generations of people would read, nod, whisper, ‘I know exactly what he felt.’”
i just love this story. it’s so heartbreaking, but it represents a narrative that’s so rarely told. heim writes so bluntly. i think he truly did create something that generations of people could read in horror to, but also deeply relate to.
i just love this story. it’s so heartbreaking, but it represents a narrative that’s so rarely told. heim writes so bluntly. i think he truly did create something that generations of people could read in horror to, but also deeply relate to.
“as if trying to focus on something special that was once there, but was there no longer.”
So devastating. So heartbreaking.
I appreciated knowing more about the characters like Eric and Wendy but also more about Neil and Brian however, for characters like Avalyn, I didn’t like the way in which she came onto Brian and when he said for her to stop, she didn’t. As well as the fact that she is about twelve years older than him. Avalyn was practically the first person that Brian had befriended and, from an outsider looking in, she broke that trust. I’m proud of Brian for slightly ending that ‘friendship,’ however I don’t think he would have if he didn’t start to think that him being abducted by aliens was bullshit.
Moreover, Brian’s obsession with aliens and the inability to separate from these obsessions and people who don’t benefit them at all as well as how he was around Brooke’s children shows his naïvety and innocence and how it differentiates with his confusion, his frustration and the constant nosebleeds he has alluding to how much innocence has been lost by the hands of Coach.
In all honesty, when compared with Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin, in Scott Heim’s novel, Neil is portrayed to be even more of a dick in this. In the film, Neil seems pretty cool and not the type of person to play it safe, to be the one in control with life whereas, in the novel, I believe Neil to be an over exaggerated version of these and he’s somewhat dislikable. Then again, I have not watched the film in a while and I’m just going off what I can recall. What happened to Neil is equally graphic in the film and novel and for a character like him, you can’t help but feel the isolation that he must feel. Furthermore, I was kind of worried by the last chapter that Neil wouldn’t realise the damage that Coach, not only has done to Brian, but has done to himself. No little boy should understand or go through what they both went through. What’s especially hard is that Neil though him and Coach were “in love,” and that’s what’s the most heartbreaking thing of all because there are real people with this Stockholm syndrome. I also didn’t know how to feel about Neil’s collection of pedophilloic porno mags but I think it works well with displaying how far in delusion and how affected he was.
I think I preferred the film however, Heim does greatly describe the horrors that both Neil and Brian endured and how detrimental the loss of a child’s innocence is.
So devastating. So heartbreaking.
I appreciated knowing more about the characters like Eric and Wendy but also more about Neil and Brian however, for characters like Avalyn, I didn’t like the way in which she came onto Brian and when he said for her to stop, she didn’t. As well as the fact that she is about twelve years older than him. Avalyn was practically the first person that Brian had befriended and, from an outsider looking in, she broke that trust. I’m proud of Brian for slightly ending that ‘friendship,’ however I don’t think he would have if he didn’t start to think that him being abducted by aliens was bullshit.
Moreover, Brian’s obsession with aliens and the inability to separate from these obsessions and people who don’t benefit them at all as well as how he was around Brooke’s children shows his naïvety and innocence and how it differentiates with his confusion, his frustration and the constant nosebleeds he has alluding to how much innocence has been lost by the hands of Coach.
In all honesty, when compared with Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin, in Scott Heim’s novel, Neil is portrayed to be even more of a dick in this. In the film, Neil seems pretty cool and not the type of person to play it safe, to be the one in control with life whereas, in the novel, I believe Neil to be an over exaggerated version of these and he’s somewhat dislikable. Then again, I have not watched the film in a while and I’m just going off what I can recall. What happened to Neil is equally graphic in the film and novel and for a character like him, you can’t help but feel the isolation that he must feel. Furthermore, I was kind of worried by the last chapter that Neil wouldn’t realise the damage that Coach, not only has done to Brian, but has done to himself. No little boy should understand or go through what they both went through. What’s especially hard is that Neil though him and Coach were “in love,” and that’s what’s the most heartbreaking thing of all because there are real people with this Stockholm syndrome. I also didn’t know how to feel about Neil’s collection of pedophilloic porno mags but I think it works well with displaying how far in delusion and how affected he was.
I think I preferred the film however, Heim does greatly describe the horrors that both Neil and Brian endured and how detrimental the loss of a child’s innocence is.
Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim is a book that deals with strong themes, including sexual assault of minors and sexual misdemeanors with minors. The book has some interesting descriptions of daily life, which I appreciated.
The central plot of the book is the impact of sexual assault on childhood, from two vastly different perspectives. One character believes it was true love, while the other has been severely impacted by it. The story proposes that both perspectives, in their own way, end up destroying people, but it is a sensitive subject that may not have been handled in the best way. The abuser suffers no consequences, one of the protagonists who was manipulated to attract more children suffers the consequences when he leaves town, and the other protagonist unlocks all the trauma in an abrupt ending.
Also, the book follows a format where each character narrates a chapter, but I agree with some of the criticism in the lower reviews here that some of the characters felt flat and their stories lacked depth. For example, the brief mention of the sister of one of the main characters becoming a hippie on her trip out of town could have been explored more to add interest to the plot instead of being a tool to express that one of the characters is just behaving weirdly.
Overall, while there are some interesting descriptions in the book, the subject matter is very sensitive, and the plot may not have been handled in the best way.
The central plot of the book is the impact of sexual assault on childhood, from two vastly different perspectives. One character believes it was true love, while the other has been severely impacted by it. The story proposes that both perspectives, in their own way, end up destroying people, but it is a sensitive subject that may not have been handled in the best way. The abuser suffers no consequences, one of the protagonists who was manipulated to attract more children suffers the consequences when he leaves town, and the other protagonist unlocks all the trauma in an abrupt ending.
Also, the book follows a format where each character narrates a chapter, but I agree with some of the criticism in the lower reviews here that some of the characters felt flat and their stories lacked depth. For example, the brief mention of the sister of one of the main characters becoming a hippie on her trip out of town could have been explored more to add interest to the plot instead of being a tool to express that one of the characters is just behaving weirdly.
Overall, while there are some interesting descriptions in the book, the subject matter is very sensitive, and the plot may not have been handled in the best way.
I went into this book expecting the typical LGBT coming of age story. I knew from the cover inserts that some form of molestation took place, but I had no idea that it would be such a big theme in the book. For this reason, I don't think I enjoyed it very much.
For one thing, there are quite a few very explicit sex scenes in the book, including at least 3 rapes, almost all of which are with underage parties. The sex seemed to occur too often to actually add to the story. While Heim's willingness to blatantly display his character's physical and emotional flaws made me grudgingly admire Heim for portraying his world somewhat realistically, it simply wasn't what I went into the story suspecting. I read books to escape, not to be reminded that somewhere out there are kids who were molested and raped as children and thus bear permanent emotional scars. While such books have their place, and probably mean a lot to someone who has been involved in a similar situation, I just didn't enjoy this one.
For one thing, there are quite a few very explicit sex scenes in the book, including at least 3 rapes, almost all of which are with underage parties. The sex seemed to occur too often to actually add to the story. While Heim's willingness to blatantly display his character's physical and emotional flaws made me grudgingly admire Heim for portraying his world somewhat realistically, it simply wasn't what I went into the story suspecting. I read books to escape, not to be reminded that somewhere out there are kids who were molested and raped as children and thus bear permanent emotional scars. While such books have their place, and probably mean a lot to someone who has been involved in a similar situation, I just didn't enjoy this one.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood
Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Homophobia