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Skim

Mariko Tamaki,

Jillian Tamaki (Illustrator)

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Aug 07, 2019 Thomas rated it liked it

Shelves: lgbtq, graphic-novel, young-adult, realistic-fiction

Love the angsty, nostalgic vibe of this graphic novel. Skim follows Skim, a girl in high school who practices witchcraft and thinks a lot about life and death. She’s sad a lot, perhaps depressed, and that’s where Mariko and Jillian Tamaki draw strength in this graphic novel – the way they capture this sadness with intimacy, poignancy, and subtlety. I know I had an emo phase as a preteen and had lots of angsty moments throughout my teen years (and I still have those moments, lol) and this book he Love the angsty, nostalgic vibe of this graphic novel. Skim follows Skim, a girl in high school who practices witchcraft and thinks a lot about life and death. She’s sad a lot, perhaps depressed, and that’s where Mariko and Jillian Tamaki draw strength in this graphic novel – the way they capture this sadness with intimacy, poignancy, and subtlety. I know I had an emo phase as a preteen and had lots of angsty moments throughout my teen years (and I still have those moments, lol) and this book helped bring me back to those emotions. Jillian Tamaki illustrates this angst well, with sweeping yet detailed black and white drawings that show how lonely Skim feels in her life. The Tamaki sisters incorporate a range of important themes, like sexuality, suicide, and isolation with a fine touch, while focusing in on Skim’s heart and how these themes affect her, both immensely and tangentially.

Despite enjoying the subtlety of the novel, I wanted a stronger plot as well as more of a progression of Skim’s character leading toward the story’s end. The story felt fragmented to me, and while on one hand I can see the appeal of that fragmentation – it’s very slice of life, a bare and uninterrupted look into an angsty teen’s life – I found it difficult to stay engaged in the story or invested in the characters with not much happening. Toward the end of the book, I felt unsure about if Skim had grown, or what changes had manifested within herself or her life or anywhere. Again, perhaps this more meandering plot was the point of the book, but I wanted more character growth or clear meaning.

A unique graphic novel I’d recommend to those searching for a slice of authentic teen angst. Mariko Tamaki later wrote Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me , one of my absolute favorite books and graphic novels of all time, so perhaps that represents growth as a writer (or just my mediocre taste preventing me from liking Skim all that much). Excited to read more of her work in the future, as both graphic novels contain an emotional authenticity I really appreciate. ...more

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