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A review by aimiller
Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was... pretty disturbing to me, but in a way that was compelling? I did have to cheat and look up the ending on Wikipedia because I didn't feel I could finish the book if I didn't know how it ended ahead of time. Heim does this incredible thing with his narration where these details of the scenes he paints become so deeply haunting--not just the obvious ones, but all of them.
Enormous trigger warnings fordetailed sexual abuse of children and a rape sequence which I didn't know going in and would have approached with more caution if I did.
Enormous trigger warnings for
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape
Moderate: Homophobia