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suspensejunkie 's review for:
Mysterious Skin
by Scott Heim
Dark, messed up, raw, and beautifully written. This is not about YA LGBT romances or overdone boring tropes. This is as real as it gets.
It is tough to review this novel but suffice it to say it's very graphic, unapologetic and paints a realistic picture of violent childhood trauma.
The author's understanding of human nature and psychology is very apparent. He has a keen knowledge of behavior and social dynamics.
The prose is very metaphoric, lyrical, and beautiful. I enjoyed his literary style too much, especially the realizations and symbolism.
This novel does have some flaws though; the other POVs (beyond Neil and Brian) felt pretty much fillers as they barely influenced the plot. One served as a McGuffin and the other a supporting role, so they didn't need to be their POVs, especially Deborah.
The plot's start and end were perfect, but the middle dragged because of the development of such secondary characters. I chose to give this 4 stars because of the way it dealt with the subject matter and because it was powerful and sad.
It is tough to review this novel but suffice it to say it's very graphic, unapologetic and paints a realistic picture of violent childhood trauma.
The author's understanding of human nature and psychology is very apparent. He has a keen knowledge of behavior and social dynamics.
The prose is very metaphoric, lyrical, and beautiful. I enjoyed his literary style too much, especially the realizations and symbolism.
This novel does have some flaws though; the other POVs (beyond Neil and Brian) felt pretty much fillers as they barely influenced the plot. One served as a McGuffin and the other a supporting role, so they didn't need to be their POVs, especially Deborah.
The plot's start and end were perfect, but the middle dragged because of the development of such secondary characters. I chose to give this 4 stars because of the way it dealt with the subject matter and because it was powerful and sad.