Skinned by Robin Wasserman

Pages: 361

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Science fiction

Notes for Parents: Some mature scenes

The Back Cover

Lia Khan was perfect: rich, beautiful, popular—until the accident that nearly killer her. Now she has been downloaded into a new body that only looks human. Lia will never feel pain again, she will never age, and she can’t ever truly die. But she is also rejected by her friends, betrayed by her boyfriend, and alienated from her old life.

Forced to the fringes of society, Lia joins others like her. But they are looked at as freaks. They are hated…and feared. They are everything but human, and according to most people, this is the ultimate crime—for which they must pay the ultimate price.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first book in the Skinned trilogy. The trilogy was renamed the Cold Awakening series and the books—Skinned, Crashed, and Wired—were renamed Frozen, Shattered, and Torn.

What’s good?

What makes us human? Flesh? In Wasserman’s technology-obsessed society, modern medicine has discovered a way to download the human brain into a prosthetic body. Plausible? Absolutely! Lia’s struggle to adjust to her new self takes her on an emotional journey, during which she encounters a wonderfully developed cast of characters, some who accept her and some who don’t.

Many issues are touched upon within the story, including medical ethics, family, friendship, humanity, courage, acceptance, and even racism.

Best Part: The beginning and the end were beautifully done.

What isn’t good?

Lia is difficult to like through most of the novel. She’s whiney, self-centered, and often quite mean to the people around her. She lacks any kind of understanding about how her own situation might have impacted others. Luckily, she slowly transforms and becomes someone who, at the very least, is worthy of our sympathy by the end.

Also, the plot is a bit weak. The idea is good, but the bones of the story rest solely on Lia’s adjustment issues. A little more complexity would have made it more interesting.

Worst part: Lia is such a spoiled princess that her predicament seems like karma. A more likeable Lia would have made for a more sympathetic story.

Recommendation þþþoo

This was a good idea that fell just a little short. It didn’t help that I read The Adoration of Jenna Fox just before – it had a considerably better plot line, as well as some mystery! But ultimately, this is a good book. The characterization is strong and the subject matter is interesting. Recommended.

Wasserman, Robin. Skinned. New York: Simon Pulse, 2008.