Scott Heim

Columbia University. Writing Division

A Novel

Mysterious Skin

sophie horne

the truth was so unbearable that i invented a new one.

It took me a while to finish this book because of how terribly empty and depressed it made me, not to mention memories of my own similar childhood crept up to haunt me in comparison thanks to the book. I think being able to relate to this book affects your reading experience a lot. Heim did an amazing job writing this, so tragically beautiful and realistic, especially the way two victims deal with their trauma in two completely different ways. I’ll never forget this book, nor the feeling it gave me.

Diana

maariyah 

intense. emotional yet managed to make me smile at some points.

Grace M

This is easily the most gruesome and explicit book I've ever read.  Heim's descriptive powers are a double edged sword when it comes to telling this story.  The abuse is painfully detailed and often had me physically recoiling from the book, but I was drawn back in with the beautiful descriptions of rural Kansas and the characters that inhabited it. Mysterious Skin will undoubtedly haunt me forever.

Mysterious Skin A Novel