Customer Reviews

Skin Deep

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For Andrea Anderson, who considers herself a Nothing, these words (about not being a surface person) from her reclusive neighbor are music to her ears. As a sophomore in high school, Andrea has been hiding amongst the Dorks, Cheerleaders, Smokers, Nerds, Goths, Geniuses, and other Nothings. Her father left when she was a child, and her mother is so busy providing for the two of them and absorbing herself in trivial pursuits that Andrea feels unloved. Then she and her classmates are thrown for a loop when one of her teachers does something irrevocable. Into this jumble of a teenager's life comes the chance to help a neighbor, Mrs. Honora Menapace, who is forced into the hospital for emergency surgery. Andrea agrees stop by her house and feed her huge dog, Zena. Andrea always thought Mrs. Menapace was a crotchety old woman. Of course she had never really seen her...until day the lady of the house returns unexpectedly while Andrea is seeing to the slobbery, kind-eyed St. Bernard. Andrea becomes Honora's paid assistant and learns to see herself and the world with more confident and even trusting eyes. Yet, she must also face that she and Honora " 'met by chance at the crossroads.' " How will the sixteen-year-old handle this stark reality? Will she close up again or will she unfurl, like a rose bud, farther into the world?

SKIN DEEP is E. M. Crane's acclaimed first novel. It is a book written with sureness of pitch and impeccable pace. It's alive with countless details and characters who certainly people the real world too. And it is alight with complex themes concerning the meaning of life, boldly reflecting 21st century humanist values. For example, at one juncture Andrea extols the modern notion that there is no right and wrong, and artist Honora's New Age/Bohemian attitudes don't counter her but do challenge her to reach beyond that dual view to a multiplistic one. " 'You can't outrun the sunrise.' " Honora says. She means we can't overcome the inevitable: that life isn't an endless gift. But Andrea learns what we CAN do while we live.

SKIN DEEP is highly recommended to thoughtful, questioning teens and their elders alike. One doesn't have to be in total agreement with its belief system to savor its depth and the queries over which it ruminates so charmingly.

A brilliant story of the meaning of true intimacy and how a deep meaningful relationship can curve and shape all that follows on the journey to adulthood.

I can't stop thinking about this story. It is deep and completely satisfying.

Andrea Anderson is a loner in high school. She plays on the sidelines of life. She has a single mom who is very demanding and her life is very dull and ordinary. She thinks of school as a theater, and as she travels the hallways she sees different soap opera scenes.

The one thing that Andrea loves are dogs and long walks in the countryside. Andrea's mom works at the local hospital and when one of the neighbors is admitted, she volunteers Andrea to walk the neighbor's dog. This single event changes Andrea's life.

When she meets Honora, her neighbor, and Honora's dog, Zena, Andrea finds acceptance for the first time. Honora employs Andrea to be her assistant. Honora is an artist and loves nature. She teaches Andrea about pottery, herbs, plants, dyes, and how to look at life beneath the surface. Andrea starts to be open about life and seeing people in a completely new light.

This story was full of metaphors about art, life, and nature. It was also a coming of age story about a lonely young girl who finds her way in this world. I highly recommend this quiet little story about life. I promise it will stay with you for a long time afterward.

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

Skin Deep is a touching story about a young woman who learns much about her self and life through relationships with other young people and significant adults. It is very well written and engages the reader in reflections of one's own life.

E.M. Crane's language is lyrical and lovely. It draws you into a deep, meaningful story. Honora Menapace, Andrea and even the drooling,loveable dog, Zena, stayed with me long after I closed the book. The characters felt so real that I continue to think about them. This is a satisfying, touching read. I can see why it won the Delacorte Press Contest.

When I started this I could not put it down . I was such an inspiring story it made me laugh and cry. It made me think about my own youth. Please read this what a great read.

Title: Skin Deep
Author: E. M. Crane
Publisher: Random House
Reading Level: Young Adult
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary (from emcrane.com):
What's underneath when you scratch the surface? If all the world's a stage, Andrea Anderson is sitting in the audience. High school has its predictable heroes, heroines, villains, and plotlines, and Andrea has no problem guessing how each drama will turn out. She is, after all, a professional spectator. In the social hierarchy she is a Nothing, and at home her mother runs the show, All Andrea has to do is basically turn up every day, and life basically plays out as scripted. Then Andrea accepts a job. Honora Menapace, a reclusive neighbor, is sick. As in every other aspect of her life, Andrea's role is clear: Honora's garden must be taken care of and her pottery finished, and someone needs to feed her dog. But what starts out as a simple job yanks Andrea's back row seat out from under her. Life is no longer predictable, and nothing is what it seems. Light is dark, villains are heroes, and what she once saw as ugly is too beautiful for words. Andrea must face the fact that life at first glance doesn't even crack the surface.

Review:
Ah, I fell in love with this novel. It just has this soothing, calm, and sweet feeling to it. I knew when I first started this novel, it would be a soft, light, and easy to read novel. And, yes, it was. But it was also deep and heart warming. The style of the book, where it referenced a stage and acts, was sweet and just look at the cover. It's gorgeous and totally appealing. I thought the title was a pretty accurate title for the novel also.

Andrea Anderson has only had one friend in her life, and that was only for a few months before he moved. Andrea lives with her lonely mom, who likes her television shows more then socializing with her daughter. So, when Ashley, a cheerleader at school, starts talking to her and seem to want to be friends with her, and when she starts taking care of her sick neighbors dog and gets into her neighbors, Mrs. Menapace (Honora), life and her mom starts dating a huge guy the size of a Clydesdale, it seems as her life has turned around. And it has. Andrea's mind is beautiful (strange phrasing, I know. ), I loved seeing things through her mind, she was unsure of her self and of things and that brought a gorgeous, fresh look in the story, and it was amazing.

Ms. Crane's writing is striking, and magnificent. The plot of the story wasn't huge, no, but the writing and the characters were amazing. The ending was brilliantly put in words. I laughed, and I cried, this novel was bravura, exceptional, marvelous, and stupendous, and honestly, I could go on and on with adjectives to descibe this novel, but I think you get the picture. This novel is a great and soft, but meaningful read, that I think everyone should take a break to read. It's not on any big issues, and topics, so it was very refreshing and I highly recommend it. For the readers still unsure think of Beth Kephart and Joan Bauer, and you'd get E. M. Crane.

This is a wonderful first novel that captures the inner life of a sixteen-year-old girl. It is engaging from first page to last. The language is beautifully poetic and the story has a touching conclusion.

Andrea describes herself as "plain-ish and boring" and she lives a ghost like existence in her home and school life until she meets Honora and her dog Zena. Honora and Zena open Andrea's world up to art, creativity and friendship and the cycles of living.

I really enjoyed this book. Andrea's voice is quiet and sure, never intrusive and never blatant. The subtlety of E.M. Crane's language and voice is truly remarkable, evoking feelings of stillness, great heaving change and understanding. I'm a sucker for stories with dogs in them (and no, nothing awful happens to Zena the St Bernard, thank goodness) and I love the concept of a dog owning a person, and what a gift it can be to be owned by one.

Mention should also be made of the breathtaking cover art of this book - it is striking on its own as a piece of art, but like all good covers should, it hinted at the story inside, and complimented it beautifully.

I've been excited for Skin Deep since I first glimpsed its cover. All the green and the pretty flowers that edge and layer themselves around the border instantly caught my eye and appealed to me. It's just gorgeous. After devouring this book shortly after it came in the mail, I'm happy to report not only does the book have a beautiful face in person, inside it holds a beautiful story about a girl who is carefully figuring out her role in her world.

Like Shakespeare said, all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. Andrea Anderson knows her part--she's a total nobody. Shy and unsure, Andrea spends much of her time watching the other players in the halls of her high school. The jocks, the geeks who are worse off than she is, the popular girls, the goths. Her incisive observations about them suggests she might know their parts better than they do. At home, she contends with an overbearing and selfishly unhappy mother.

Life for Andrea is a lonely show with a seemingly endless run and little variation until she takes a job walking her ailing neighbour, Honora Menapace's dog, Zena. It seems simple enough at first, but Honora and Zena open up Andrea's world in ways she never could have imagined. It's through their friendship that Andrea realizes all roles in high school and in life are not so definitive as she assumed--including her own. Andrea is about to discover, as the back of the book says, what's underneath when you scratch the surface.

Skin Deep is currently heading my Best Reads of 2008 list. Andrea's voice is instantly engaging and the story she narrates is a thoughtfully complex and emotional one. Crane's prose is vivid (her descriptions set off my senses) and honest--so honest it hurts sometimes, but in a good way. Honora Menapace is a woman who I'd love to have met (if she was real!), but I'm glad for the privilege to have read about her.

Crane shows great care for her characters through her writing, and I always got the feeling that secondary characters wandered off the page and into their own lives, that they didn't just stop with the book. I love that. The act of creating, art and nature weave itself throughout the story in a lovely thread. Some of my favourite passages were about Zena, the Saint Bernard. The respect and warmth for animals and nature was lovely and refreshing to read.

Skin Deep asks the deeper questions and forces you to do the same, never forcing answers, but suggesting compelling and sometimes heartbreaking possibilities. This is a beautiful book. If you enjoy Laurie Halse Anderson and John Green--or just good, thoughtful books in general--you'll enjoy this debut. Don't miss out.