SKIM

Skim is a beautiful and quiet graphic novel that touches on some big concepts that most people will be able to relate to. It is not a superficial book by any stretch, but the way it softly curls around its ideas suggests at depth without laboring it or being weighed down by it. I think it also had an interesting effect of highlighting Skim's adolescence, and the confusion of trying to make sense of life and growing up. Reading it as an adult with the retrospect of life experience allows you to fill in what are total blanks for her.

The artwork is gorgeous and expressive, and the writing was just right. Skim and the other characters' voices sounded believable for their ages and the time period (almost cringingly so! “Oh god, I can't believe I used to talk like that!”). Many of the panels are subtly surprising; Jillian Tamaki often eschews what you might expect to see in the frame after reading Mariko Tamaki's text, so there's a really pleasant interplay between them, that adds a nice extra layer if you look for it. The book is in black and white and certainly doesn't suffer from this, but I loved the coloring on the cover so much, I would have loved to have seen more of Tamaki's artwork presented this way.

The story I found to be very relatable; between the 90s private school setting, the outsider perspective, and the tentative queer awakening were all evocative touch points for me. Skim seems a little distant to start with, but by the end I was truly attached to her and wanting to see good things happen for her. It also touches on race, but it isn't a central theme in terms of the plot, but the few references to it and the nods to traditional Japanese artwork were very interesting.

The ending was quite light-handed and open-ended and very satisfying. It didn't feel like a true ending per se, but like we'd just witnessed a little portion of someone's life, and not a story with neat beginnings and ends, and that's what I loved about it. It left me with a bittersweet smile on my face and wishing Skim the best.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book, especially if you enjoyed the graphic novel version of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carrol.