Skim

by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

The time is the early 1990s, the setting a girls' academy in Toronto. Enter "Skim," aka Kimberly Keiko Cameron, a not-slim, would-be Wiccan goth. When her classmate Katie Matthews is dumped by her boyfriend, who then kills himself, the entire school goes into mourning overdrive. It's a weird time to fall in love, but Skim does just that after secret meetings with her neo-hippie English teacher, Ms. Archer. When Ms. Archer abruptly leaves the school, Skim has to cope with her confusion and isolation, as her best friend, Lisa, tries to pull her into "real" life by setting up a hilarious double date for the school's semi-formal. Skim finds an unexpected ally in Katie. Suicide, depression, love, being gay or not, crushes, cliques of popular, manipulative peers the whole gamut of tortured teen life is explored in this masterful graphic novel by cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki."

• ISBN10: 0888997531
• ISBN13: 9780888997531
• Publish Date: 9 June 2008
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 8 February 2021
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: Groundwood Books Ltd ,Canada
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 140
• Language: English

Reviews

[layawaydragon]

I enjoyed this. I read it in one sitting and easily wanted more. It's interesting, with a rarely seen MC who's fat, Asian, queer, and Wiccan.

I liked the art style in general, but the faces were weird. I mean, faces ARE weird, but I wasn't a fan of this version of them.

I was shocked with the teacher bomb and wish that had been dealt with at all head on.

It is got it really very right about how schools and groups of neurotypicals react to teen suicide. And how bad those that mean well handle it. Then there's the predator that did talk to Kim the right way, only to be a freaking predator!! UGH.

My favorite part though is how things changed between Kim and Lisa and Katie Matthews. That I can easily read a lot more of, TBH, to see if it changes some more.

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

After the recommendation from Ilikey Merey, and a conversation with a work colleague about it, Skim found its way into my hands thanks to aforementioned work colleague specifically for LGBTQ YA Month (thanks, Lily!). Again, not generally being a fan of graphic novels, I was a little wary, but found I really enjoyed it.

A boy from Skim's school, John commits suicide, and the school suddenly becomes obsessed with grief. Skim is witness to the "coolness" that comes with dragging out John's death - memorials, the "Girls Celebrate Life" group that's set up, the constant smothering of the one person who is actually grieving, John's ex-girlfriend Katie. Skim sees it all, but doesn't join in. She has enough going on in her own life - like falling in love with Ms. Archer, her English and Art teacher, and the recent awkwardness between her and her best friend Lisa.

This isn't a book about suicide, being a teen witch, discovering your sexuality, or friend problems. It's about life, the life of Skim, and these happen to be the things that are going on in her life at the moment. There isn't really a main focus for the story, but Skim's growing attraction to her teacher is the focus for her. Ms. Archer is cool; she listens to her, and they end up having conversations outside of class, smoking together, discussing the books being studied. Ms. Archer doesn't treat her like a child or a student, but a person who's opinions are valid. Skim is flattered by the attention, and she finds herself falling in love with her teacher. It's never discussed though; she doesn't tell Lisa, she doesn't tell anyone. Skim deals with it all on her own. It felt to me much less about Ms. Archer, and more about Skim's self-discovery and falling in love for the first time. It was sweet in the only way confusion about love can be.

The story as a whole is great. I can't really talk that much more about it without spoiling it, but I can say that it's a story I would have automatically picked up to read without hesitation if it was a YA novel rather than a graphic novel. If I had to criticise, I'd say that I'd have preferred there be more description when it came to feelings, and I'd like to know more about what happened at certain times; what led up to it, the aftermath, rather than just an image. I know a picture can say a thousand words, but perhaps a thousand isn't enough for me sometimes. An awesome graphic novel, and a great story!