Mariko Tamaki

Skim

laia

Sarah Sammis

Skim: 08/17/09
Set in the early 1990s, Skim by Mariko Tamaki is about Kimberly 'Skim' Keiko Cameron and her time at an all girls academy in Toronto. She's a Goth and a Wiccan and half Japanese. She wants to fit in somewhere but she's not sure how or where.

Skim deals with many of the same themes as Emiko Superstar, also by Mariko Tamaki: self acceptance, lesbianism, and growing up in a biracial family. This book though delves deeper and includes discussion of suicide, a more frank discussion of teenage sex and the ways in which teens can be taken advantage of both by other teens and by adults.

Of the two books, I prefer Emiko Superstar for the balance between the teenage and adult problems. By having Skim experience first had all the issues the book becomes one long angst filled slog-fest.

Like Emiko Superstar, Skim was nominated earlier this year for a Sybils in the graphic novels category. It lost to Emiko.

Lara Engle

I'll admit, a little of the reason I love the book is that I was a girl going to a Catholic high school in 1993. Skim is a girl going to an all-girls, private, religious (presumably Catholic) school in 1993. I identify with her sweet goth soul. But that's only part of it. The artwork in this book tells about 3/4 of the story. You read the panels like fine art and literature combined. Portions of the text read like poetry. It's just all so lovely and sad and true. It might seem sensationalist to have a comic book encompassing goth girls, private school, Wicca, forbidden love, suicide, divorce, teen girl drama, the loss of friendships, and more. But life is like that sometimes, especially when you're a teenager girl with a lot of feelings and not a lot of guidance. I ❤ Skim.

read before bed tonight, art was stunning, story felt a little inconsistent but had beautiful moments

mira lee

Jude Moon

"Dear diary:
today I had a dream:
i put my hands inside my chest
and grabbed my heart
to try to put it at rest."



mariko tamaki did a great job exploring the nuances of being a teenager who's struggling with their mental health and sexuality. skim was a great protagonist who had so much to say and show to the world and i hope she gets to be the person she wants to :)

also, the illustration in this was just stunning, I couldn't look away from it 🌿

Lumpkinspice

Finished the book in one sitting. So poignant and beautiful. Loved the idea of people leaving marks on us with everything they say or do to us. 
Brilliant.

Lu 🌷

Jen Estrella

I had a dream 
I put my hands inside my chest 
and held my heart 
to try to keep it still.

Hannah

I thought it would be the sapphic version of heartstopper but no I was disappointed. I wanted a fluffy romance :/ Heavy topics are important but I read because its escapism so I don't enjoy reading about depression.

After a boy at school takes his own life, teen-witch Skim's fragile world seems to topple and turn upside down too. In witty, moving and painfully honest diary entries Skim confides the frenzy of grief that surrounds her, while deep down she struggles with her own loneliness.

Juliana Callahan

This wasn't great, but it also wasn't bad. I wish we got more in depth characterization but I really enjoyed the art style throughout. The story was relatively well put together but I felt like stronger characters would have added some consistency to the plot. Overall, not a bad read but not one of my favorites either.

Chelsea Breher

Skim is an honest portrayal of highschool life. It's dark and unnerving in many ways but its also an must read. I've read it a number of times.

Bowie 

Joycelyn Ghansah

Kitty Carter 

Melanie Richards

Lindy

𓆨

Skim is Kimberly Keiko Cameron, a not-slim, would-be Wiccan goth stuck in a private girls' school in Toronto. When a classmate's boyfriend kills himself because he was rumoured to be gay, the school goes into mourning overdrive, each clique trying to find something to hold on to and something to believe in. It's a weird time to fall in love, but that's high school, and that's what happens to Skim when she starts to meet in secret with her neo-hippie English teacher, Ms. Archer. But when Ms. Archer abruptly leaves, Skim struggles to cope with her confusion and isolation, armed with her trusty journal and a desire to shed old friendships while cautiously approaching new ones. Depression, love, sexual identity, crushes, manipulative peers --teen life in all its dramatic complexities is explored in this touching, pitch-perfect, literary graphic masterpiece. Cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki collaborate brilliantly in this poignant glimpse into the heartache of being sixteen.

Skim

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