The Rest is Still Unwritten (Skim)

I really liked the book Skim. I think one of the reasons I liked it is because there were no major climactic moments, the book was not trying to solve some major epidemic nor was it making a statement. It just, was. I also liked how this book was not necessarily dark but it showed the opposite of the “ideal” high school student. Skim wasn’t the captain of the cheerleading squad and she didn’t really have that many friends except Lisa.

I remember high school with bittersweet feelings. My freshman and sophomore year there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t feel ugly on some way. I never had the best clothes and acne was public enemy number one. Skim is a character that is in a transition stage. She’s not the prettiest or the thinnest girl in school but she is still trying to figure out where she fits in. Being a teenager is difficult enough, let alone Skim maybe a lesbian. A part that I am confused about is the relationship between Skim and Ms. Archer. Because in one scene they were kissing but Ms. Archer just kind of slips out of the picture and I wonder where their relationship stood in all this.

If there were no pictures I don’t think I would have understood the novel at well. One of the major things I thought the picture helped with was understanding Skim as a character. The graphics of her face added to the idea that she is in an awkward stage. Another thing I liked about the book are the colors. Although they were only black and white they reflected what was going on in the scene. In the scene where Skim is kissing Ms. Archer the picture is very white with lots of light. All the scenes where she’s walking alone are black. I think the author used this for symbolism. Being a teenager is hard; sometimes you feel I like you are the only person feeling empty and alone. However, there are times during that period where we start discovering who we are and what we like about ourselves. These periods make it easier to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have mixed feelings about the ending. I didn’t like it because I wanted to know what Skim’s future looked like. I wanted to know where her relationships went with the other characters, like Katie and Ms. Archer. I did like it though because it was her walking into the woods once again. Walking alone. I think it represents how we all keep walking along, no matter where we have been, we never really know where we are going. Life would be so much easier if we were characters in a book and the ending was already written. We would never have to fear what lies ahead, because we would already know how it ends.