Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt

Title: Skin Deep

Author: Laura Jarratt

Publisher: Electric Monkey/Egmont

Published: March 2012

ISBN: 978 14052 56728

Rating: 5/5

After a car crash, Jenna is scarred for life on her face, which affects everything.  Simple things like walking down the street become too much to bear with children staring and parents talking in hushed tones.  It’s not just about how people treat her - like she was evil something to be laughed at and a freak – it’s also about how the accident affects her confidence and friendships.

Ryan is my favourite character in this and comes across as a breath of fresh air in a book where most of the characters find it hard to cope with Jenna’s scars and turn instead to disgust.  Ryan becomes Jenna’s best friend and first love and treats her how she should be treated.  This is so cure in places.  I loved Ryan’s attitude to life, and his story is an unusual one. 

The way Jenna slowly warms to Ryan which changes things for her again seems very real.  This contains a really good plot – personally I was disgusted by the perpetrator of the accident, but even he felt like a real person in his mannerisms and reaction to what he had done.

Skin Deep gave me a lot to think about as well as being an interesting book about acceptance, love and over coming adversity.  I’d highly recommend this one!

Book synopsis:

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...

Source – Many thanks to Electric Monkey/Egmont, a copy was received in return for an honest review.