Review ~ Skin Deep ~ Laura Jarratt

 

Title: Skin Deep
Author: Laura Jarratt
Published by: Electric Monkey
Date: March 2012

goodreads says:

Ugly people don't have feelings. They're not like everyone else. They don't notice if you stare at them and turn away. And if they did notice, it wouldn't hurt them. They're not like real people. Or that's what I used to think. Before I learned...

After the car crash that leaves her best friend dead, Jenna is permanently scarred. She struggles to rebuild her life, but every stare in the street, every time she looks in the mirror, makes her want to retreat further from the world. Until she meets Ryan. Ryan's a traveller. When he and his mother moor their narrow boat on the outskirts of a village, she tells him this time it will be different. He doesn't believe her; he can't imagine why this place shouldn't be as unwelcoming as the rest. Until he meets Jenna. But as Jenna and Ryan grow closer, repercussions from the crash continue to reverberate through the community. And then a body is found...

Opening line: The stereo thumps out a drumbeat.

Closing line: sorry ~ that would be a spoiler!!

I loved Skin Deep. At this stage I will admit, as I have in the past, a book has never mad me cry I'm emotionally hard with these kind of things and although I've read books that quicken the heart rate or tug at the strings of my cold heart Skin Deep almost got me! It is possibly the closet I've come to shedding a tear and not because of the story as a whole but because of Ryan's mum. She reminded me of my own mum and although my mum does not have the same problems as Ryan's mum it just really made me think and any book that does that it brilliant in my eyes!

I'm not going to lie, Skin Deep is a book I had for a long time before reading it, i was sent several copies at work and I eventually picked it up and wow! I was so surprised and I could have kicked myself for not picking it up sooner!! Had it not been for work I may never had read this truly heartfelt story.

Once I got to reading Skin Deep I almost immediately felt very protective of Jenna. She is trying to come to terms with the loss of her friend after the tragic accident that left her with facial scaring. I felt a connection with Jenna as I have a father who is an amputee and I know what it's like when people stare and whisper. Sometimes people are just curious but in Jenna's case everyone knows what happened and they still whisper. She is treated horrible by the person who was driving that night and oh I wanted to punch his little face in! Although she would just rather be left alone once Jenna is finally out and about the town after being home for recovery she bumps into Ryan.

Ryan, our travelling boy, has just set up camp on the canal with his mother and their mobile boat home. He wants nothing more that to find a place to settle because wherever he and his mother travel to they are seen as outcasts and are often forced to move along. I loved Ryan, he's the misunderstood good guy who often settles things with his fists. I love how he is very protective of his mother and her condition and I love how he becomes protective over Jenna as their friendship develops.

Ryan and Jenna have a strong friendship built on the grounds that they are both just that little bit different from everyone else. Their friendship is rather beautiful and I just love how Ryan sticks up for Jenna in true boy style.

But this book is so much more than boy meets girl! It's a story of friendship, of over coming adversity and being accepted for who you truly are. It's a story about finding yourself again and allowing yourself to trust others in the hope that you can love and be loved. Skin Deep is a story that everyone should pay attention too!