Skim

Description

Author: Tamaki Mariko

Brand: Groundwood Books

Edition: Illustrated

Features:

• Groundwood Books

Format: Illustrated

Package Dimensions: 8x254x320

Number Of Pages: 144

Release Date: 23-02-2010

Details: Product Description

“Skim” is Kimberly Keiko Cameron, a not-slim, would-be Wiccan goth who goes to a private girls’ school in the early ’90s. When her classmate Katie Matthews is dumped by her boyfriend, who then kills himself — possibly because he’s (maybe) gay — the entire school goes into mourning overdrive. It’s a weird time to fall in love, but that’s what happens to Skim when she starts meeting secretly with her neo-hippie English teacher, Ms. Archer. But then Ms. Archer abruptly leaves the school, and Skim has to cope with her confusion and isolation while her best friend, Lisa, tries to pull her into “real” life by setting up a hilarious double-date for the school’s semi formal. Suicide, depression, love, homosexuality, crushes, cliques of popular, manipulative peers — the whole gamut of teen life is explored in this poignant glimpse into the heartache of being 16.

Review

…the expressionistic fluidity of the black and white illustrations serves the purpose of pages of prose, so that the laconic conversation of these girls and Skim’s almost equally economical and intermittent diary entries ring true. (
Canadian Literature 2010-02-10)

Being able to tap into that visceral experience, warts and all, is what makes Skim such an amazing read…A powerful and poignant story that is as perfect a synergy of words and art as you’re likely to find in comics, Skim is a true gem. (
Metro 2008-04-01)

…avoids all the cliches of a coming-of-age story…Original in every which way. (Valerie D’Orazio
Friends of Lulu 2008-02-01)

…intelligent choice…a sensitive and caring portrayal of youth…universal…a complete success…[Jillian’s] storytelling is solid…[and] her art is very atmospheric… (
Gay Comics List 2008-04-01)

…traverse[s] the turbulent landscape of high school with tenderness and a keen eye for the yearning of adolescent girls…From the particularities of slang to the bigger concepts like fear and isolation, Mariko and Jillian Tamaki capture the subtle details that comprise this understated part of life…a world [in] which anyone who has ever been a teenager would be able to relate to at some level…Jillian Tamaki’s use of line and shadow is effective in rendering the psychology of characters and the moody spaces they find themselves in…Formally, Skim is interesting for its varied approach to panel-use. Some pages flaunt over 10 similarly sized and shaped panels while others reveal only one (often silent) borderless image. The overall effect reveals impressive artwork and many powerful scenes…Skim is a unique piece, one not to be missed. Highly Recommended. [Skim uses] high school as a fertile setting for pungent commentary on racial, cultural, and sexual issues…The narrative, mainly in diary form, feels accurate and realistic, drenched in a sense of confusion and nihilism, and the art, influenced by Craig Thompson’s Blankets (2003), reflects the spare, gloomy emotional landscape in which Skim exists. This story will appeal to many female comics fans… (
CM Magazine 2008-03-01)

…[Skim is a] stunningly emotional graphic novel…an artful jumble that is as true-to-life as it is diffuse…unfussy and immediate…The delicately lined art alternately expands and contradicts the prose to achieve layers of meaning, tone and irony…With honesty and compassion, this innovative narrative communicates a life just beginning, open and full of possibility. (
Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW 2008-05-01)

…[Skim] manages to avoid the usual cliches…The b/w cirt is fluid and curvy and looks like it came straight out of a sketchbook. The little details are wonderful…Highly recommended for high school graphic novel colelctions, especially those catering to girls. (
Kliatt 2008-05-01)

…rendered delicately…Mariko’s writing is assured…Skim’s self-searching entries are wrenched off or lit up by the next image…Skim comes into its own, building a teenage girl mood that’s struggling observant and shyly hea