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May 18, 2008

KT rated it:

In this slice-of-life graphic novel, high school student Kimberly Keiko Cameron(nicknamed Skim) is a Wicca in training who feels out of place in the Catholic girls' school she attends ("my school=goldfish tank of stupid"). Her teachers and classmates are all a-flutter because the ex-boyfriend of one of the students, Katie, has committed suicide. When Katie shows up a few days later with two broken arms, the rumor circulates that she jumped off a roof in a suicide attempt of her own.
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1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Apr 29, 2008

Paul rated it:

For a story about emotions and connections, I felt rather unconnected to Skim, the title character. Maybe it was because author Mariko Tamaki went a little too overboard in making Skim an "every girl" character. Sure, she had some petulant goth / wicca leanings, but within those categories she felt a little too much like she was always playing a role. Maybe that's what bothered me with the story as a whole---it was always by the numbers, there was always the proper event happening at t More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2008

Jackie "the Librarian" rated it:

This reminded me a lot of Ghost World, being about a misfit girl, nicknamed Skim, and her best friend, whose paths are starting to diverge.
There's not much story here, but to me, that felt true to life in high school. I, like Skim, watched from the sidelines, and when something does happen to you, it can be overwhelming and life changing, as when Skim's teacher kisses her.
I liked the sly humor - the coven meeting that was also an AA meeting, the costume party with all the girls exc More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Mar 18, 2009

jess rated it:

This is one of my new favorite graphic novels. It is _so_much_better_ than the Minx graphic novel by the same author (Emiko Superstar). The art is beautiful, great lines & strong white spaces. The emotions are pure. The cover art did not really engage me at all, but don't judge this book by its cover. The cover doesn't really do justice to the story and illustrations inside.

It's about a teen girl in high school (Skim) who dabbles with Wicca, tries to make sense of her sexuality, and n More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 04, 2011

Amanda rated it:

Kim Cameron, otherwise known as Skim, goes to an upclass private girl’s school, where she’s a bit of an outcast because of her looks (overweight, half-Asian), her muddled attempts to be Wiccan, and her best friend’s aggressive anti-social attitude. When a classmate’s boyfriend breaks up with her and then kills himself, the school forms a society geared toward suicide prevention. They aggressively try to “help” people like Skim, who don’t conform to the prep-norm. While avoiding the mob of girls More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 30, 2008

Maré rated it:

The cover for this book speaks nothing of the beauty it holds inside. I thought it was about geishas, especially paired with the last name Tamaki.

I feel like I've seen Jillian Tamaki's work somewhere. Maybe she's a friend of an artist I like from FIST-A-CUFFS?

Her style is very subtle and strong, quiet and loud, carved out of marble. Alive. Soft pencils, maybe charcoal, dry brush, a lot of black and grey and a great use of white space. Beautiful textures. The images themse More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 03, 2009

Raina rated it:

I think they could have edged up the cover a bit - it doesn't reflect the goth, witchy, lesbian elements of the book. And granted, Kim's self discovery is the central point, and not all those other elements which merely contribute, but still. I loved the subtlety of the storytelling - nonlinear, deviceful but not, the cynicism and assertion of authenticity, the portrayal of the transference of friendships, and the heartbreak of young emotion. A treat, and a quick read, although I would love a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 26, 2009

Jamila rated it:

Hilarious and sad. I loved the Girls Celebrate Life club and the mystery of Ms. Archer. Great book about friendship, loneliness, young love, and identity.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 06, 2008

K rated it:

It's not the longest book but it took me a long time to read; I read a few pages a day because it's so good and I didn't want the experience to end. It's sumptuous, even. I and my high school friends were(are) Skim without the art teacher krush. It made me think of the cozy uncomfortableness of teenagehood. Kinda Heathers, kinda Banana Yoshimoto, kinda Buffy. Beautiful, intense, real. perfect mush of images and text. There was a bit of suspense that thankfully was dropped. We want Skim to surv More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 06, 2011

Travis rated it:

It's 1993 and Kimberly Keiko Cameron, aka Skim, is in grade 10 at a Catholic girls' school. She is: Wiccan, biracial (Japanese-Canadian/white), sort of an outcast, overweight, falling in love with her English teacher, Ms. Archer.[return][return]I really loved this. It's so...ordinary. It's not a message book, even though there are lots of things (being Asian, homophobia, being queer, bullying, teen suicide, rumors, divorce, being overweight) that could be turned into big Issues to Teach a Lesson More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 31, 2008

Kate rated it:

Kim Keiko Cameron (Skim) is in 10th grade at an all girls private school in 1993. A goth girl into Wicca and witchcraft no one really understands her. Her dark clothing and moods are always being misinterpreted as depression. When a guy at a neighboring school commits suicide, Skim's school goes into mourning overdrive. They create an anti-suicide/depression group, of which Kim is a particular target.

To top it all off Kim has fallen in love with her english teacher (a woman), h More...

1 comment like

Dec 23, 2008

Tasha rated it:

Skim is a teen who defies easy categorization. She's trying to become a Wiccan, sometimes leans toward goth, is very artistic, and just may be gay. She attends an all-girl private school where the boyfriend of one of the other students has just committed suicide. Skim and her best friend, Lisa, begin to drift apart through a series of misunderstandings while Skim is drawn to one of her teachers. This complex graphic novel captures perfectly the stress, depression and quest of being a teen.
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Dec 08, 2008

Robbie rated it:

Skim

by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

* Hardcover: 140 pages
* Publisher: Groundwood Books (February 28, 2008)
* Format: Graphic novel
* ISBN-13: 978-0888997531

Skim is sort of the girl’s version of Blankets. It’s abouta girl going through high school and dealing withher depression, sexual urges, and wicca. Obviously, it’s probably not suitable for the younger set, but it’s not innappropriate for most high schoolers by any means. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 07, 2012

David rated it:

I grabbed this at random while I was browsing graphic novels at the local library. I have a nostalgic fondness for teen coming-of-age graphic novels, though none of the published ones I've read (Blankets, Black Hole) are as good as a handful of web comics.

Anyway, I am totally not the target audience for this book, or else I am just too old. For one thing, the characters are all teenage girls at an all-girls' high school. It's also set in the early 90s, so not only do I not relate to More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 21, 2011

Erika rated it:

This quickly found its way into my shelf of most-loved graphic novels. Skim is a little disgruntled, a little magickal, and might have a crush on her drama/english teacher. (I forget which class it was.) While you're reading, you really feel like you're going with her for the ride, and the way she speaks about her disappointments and falling in love is as if its all a surprise. She is seeing the world, taking it in, some of it she likes, some of it she doesn't like. But she's a keen observer and More...

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Sep 17, 2011

Traci rated it:

Kimberly Keiko Cameron, otherwise known as Skim, is just your regular teenager in the early 1990s. Her parents are divorced, her best friend Lisa gets on her nerves, and she’s just trying to find out who she is. She travels the requisite path of self-discovery that we all go through in high school. She tries out being a Wiccan; she smokes out in the woods behind school, and she kisses her English teacher Ms. Archer. When Ms. Archer abruptly leaves the school and her job, Skim changes. Is sh More...

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Aug 22, 2011

Dani rated it:

Skim is a graphic novel that centers around the main character whose nickname is Skim. Skim is an overweight, Japanese-Canadian, gothic, Wiccan, and high school social outcast. However, none of these descriptions are actually truthgul. As the reader becomes familiar with Skim, he/she soon discovers that she is just another misunderstood high school student who is trying to find her niche will still retaining some of her identity. The plot begins to roll when the boyfriend of the most popular gir More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 28, 2011

Nesa rated it:

I have a soft spot for graphic novels with black and white artwork. Skim is one such. The book is written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by her cousin Jillian Tamaki.

Skim is an overweight grade 10 student stuck in the suburbs at a private girls’ school, dealing with her separated parents, absorbed in wicca, tarot cards, astrology, and philosophy, and rebelling against conformity. She’s also a visual artist grappling with her emerging gay identity. The tale is narrated as excerpts fro More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 06, 2011

Kathryn rated it:

I didn't really like this as much as I'd hoped, and it came across as pretty average. I've been reading a number of books and graphics about self-discovery and growing up lately, and Skim is one that I found being recommended as a lesbian graphic novel, so I bought it. I do think I got my money's worth, because it is quite a big read for a more 'artsy' graphic, but I can't say I'm really a fan of it.

Firstly, the art. I am not a fan of the art style, but it is functional and works fai More...

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Apr 20, 2011

Dan rated it:

This graphic novel details the emotional jaunt that is high school for Kimberly Cameron-aka Skim. Skim is bi-racial, dresses goth, and dabbles in Wicca, most of the school doesn't seem to understand her. When one of the popular boys from her high school takes his own life, Skim is quickly identified as a suicide risk, though she has never demonstrated any reason for anyone to believe this. Skim confides in her English teacher Ms. Archer when the two share cigarette breaks together. Ms. Archer se More...

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Feb 10, 2011

Johnny rated it:

Skim was a intriguing book. It was a weird, but interesting book that i couldn't put down. It tells the life of a girl named Skim (Kimberly Keiko Cameron) and she is in high school. It talks about the average high school teen. It has themes about sexuality, drama, depression, and friendship. It generally talks about sexuality because Skim falls in love her English teacher who is also a girl, and Katie Matthews had a boyfriend but got dumped, then he kills himself because he was possibly gay, and More...

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Dec 22, 2010

Caroline rated it:

I didn't know what to expect out of this graphic novel, and I retained that feeling throughout. It delves into a lot of aspects of the adolescent experience that I feel like I know about without ever reading about -- Kim, the protagonist, is a biracial Wiccan who is questioning her sexuality and dealing with depression and a reaction to a peer's suicide, but none of these elements really tells you what the book is about. The black and white artwork is beautiful without being 'pretty' and the c More...

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Sep 21, 2010

Trixie rated it:

Skim is a graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki. Using first person narration and diary entries, the struggles of sixteen year old Kimberly Keiko Cameron (Skim as she is known by her friends) are made evident: “Being sixteen is officially the worst thing I’ve ever been.” The novel takes place during the school year of 1993 at a private, all girls high school in Canada. Skim and her best friend Lisa are described as not typical teenage girls; they are intereste More...

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Jul 18, 2010

Miz Moffatt rated it:

Transcendent storytelling meets dark and detailed illustration, all folded up into a Canadian suburban landscape. Skim captures the awkwardness, the isolation, and the crush of new feeling connected to adolescence and spins it into graphica gold. Written from Kimberly Keiko Cameron's perspective, readers are invited into the internal space of the character known as "Skim" through her cutting journal entries and her often strained interaction with parents, her best friend, Lisa, and the More...

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Jun 08, 2010

Marissa rated it:

This is a pretty amazing coming-of-age style graphic novel. The drawing style is beautiful and there's some really exciting artistic experimentation going on with the lay-out, the angles the artist chooses in the panel, the lettering etc. Jillian Tamaki doesn't just illustrate the characters and events in the book, she brings their moods and movement to life. Not to mention that her imitation of the style of classical Japanese portraiture to draw the teenaged protagonist gives the whole work an More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 03, 2010

Lauma rated it:

This book won numerous awards including ALA Notables Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens, Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, and Best Illustrated Children's Book Award from the New York Times. I was particularly intrigued because it was a coming of age story of a teenage girl, Skim. She is of a multi-racial background (Caucasian and Asian) and deals with many serious issues while trying to fit in to her all-girls school. This book is definitely for mature teens and adults. There is More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 19, 2010

Mel rated it:

I've been avoiding ordering this book for the library because of the fight that is surly coming over keeping it here. I have heard so much about how controversial other libraries had found (and are finding) it. And, because this last time I chose Water Baby to fight over.
But, here's the thing: I finally read the public library's copy of Skim, and it's a great book with nothing much to fight over.
Skim is a Canadian 10th grader with plenty of problems before she has some questionab More...

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Jan 04, 2010

Loyd rated it:

A group of private schoolgirls, including Kimberly Keiko Cameron ('Skim'), an overweight, socially withdrawn waif who fancies herself a witch, try on different personae that are as ill-fitting as their plaid school uniforms.

I was first attracted by the black and white art, which is flowing, spatial and sinewy, Asian wood prints as if they were drawn by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld. As to the story: there are some lovely turns of phrase, but I'm not sure which sub-plot I was most appal More...

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Nov 01, 2009

Lisa rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jul 13, 2009

Nicole rated it:

Kimberly Keiko Cameron, nicknamed Skim because she is not, is an introverted, gothic outsider in the graphic novel Skim by cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki published in 2008 by Groundwood Books in Toronto, Ontario. Kim goes to a private all girls’ school with her best friend Lisa. Together they smoke, seek to practice the Wicca religion, and make sarcastic digs at the school-wide frenzy following the suicide of a classmate’s boyfriend.

Skim succeeds in what would otherwise be conside More...

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