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10th out of 106 books
—
242 voters
Skin
by
Adrienne Maria Vrettos (Goodreads Author)
I'M TELLING YOU THIS BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T ASK. I'VE GOT IT ALL HERE, GROWING LIKE A TUMOR IN MY THROAT.
I'm telling you because if I don't, I will choke on it. Everybody knows what happened, but nobody asks. And Elvis the EMT doesn't count because when he asked, he didn't even listen to me answer because he was listening to my sister's heart not beat with his stethoscope. I w...more
I'm telling you because if I don't, I will choke on it. Everybody knows what happened, but nobody asks. And Elvis the EMT doesn't count because when he asked, he didn't even listen to me answer because he was listening to my sister's heart not beat with his stethoscope. I w...more
Hardcover, 227 pages
Published
March 21st 2006
by Margaret K. McElderry
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Skin by Adrienne Vrettos
Donnie has become invisible. Since his sister has been in the hospital, Donnie has practiced floating through the halls like a ghost. He doesn’t touch anyone, and he imagines that the times he does brush up against their arms, it feels like a clammy, cold breath on their skin. Donnie sits in the back of his high school class and doesn’t raise his hand. He ignores everyone because it is easy, it is like they are not even in the same universe. Donnie’s goal is to get throug...more
Donnie has become invisible. Since his sister has been in the hospital, Donnie has practiced floating through the halls like a ghost. He doesn’t touch anyone, and he imagines that the times he does brush up against their arms, it feels like a clammy, cold breath on their skin. Donnie sits in the back of his high school class and doesn’t raise his hand. He ignores everyone because it is easy, it is like they are not even in the same universe. Donnie’s goal is to get throug...more
In her first novel, Adrienne Maria Vrettos, opens her book hard and fast-paced, in a scene that you wouldn't expect to find on a first page. The fairly new author has only to novels to her name, Skin and Sight. Skin has won many honorable mentions and a few book awards including an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Though this book was only two hundred and twenty seven pages, I found myself devouring every page and hoping it wouldn't end.
This novel portrays life, nowadays, at it's lowest. A marr...more
This novel portrays life, nowadays, at it's lowest. A marr...more
Nov 28, 2012
Becky Hernandez
added it
I can safely say that me and my siblings get along similarly to the Karen and Donnie in the story do. Although if something like what was happening between everyone in their family were to happen to me (which I doubt would happen) I don’t think I would react the same way because things affect me in a different way.
Usually stories like this revolve around how a girl is living through it. But how would a boy see it. Skin, by Adrienne Marie Vrietos is a story about Donnie’s life. Anorexia and a dy...more
Usually stories like this revolve around how a girl is living through it. But how would a boy see it. Skin, by Adrienne Marie Vrietos is a story about Donnie’s life. Anorexia and a dy...more
Skin is about Donnie, a fourteen year old boy with many problems. The thing about his life, though, is that he doesn’t have much time to worry about pimples or girls like other boys his age might. What he is constantly worried about is his older sister, Karen, with an eating disorder. On top of that he has to worry about his parent’s struggling marriage and his new school role: class loser. He’s more preoccupied with wondering if his role model has eaten that day more than anything. Donnie decid...more
Skin, written by Adrienne Maria Vrettos, is an engaging novel describing the tales of a troubled and broken home trying to find peace in modern day. Told from the perspective of 14 year old Donnie, he describes his dysfunctional family with an anorexic 16 year old sister, Karen, and his divorced parents who are too entralled in their troubles to take care of their children. Despite their mother's weak hearted attemps to bring their family together, the ignorance of Karen and the oblivious ways...more
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I've had this book for many years now, it is one of my favourites. The story deals with 14 year old misfit Donnie and how he feels he is dissapearing. His home life has broken down, what with his dad leaving and his sister battling with anorexia. At school he is one of the most unpopular kids and his two best friends have ditched him.
The book opens with the death of his sister Karen and Donnie trying to revive her, which is quite an interesting opening, bec...more
I've had this book for many years now, it is one of my favourites. The story deals with 14 year old misfit Donnie and how he feels he is dissapearing. His home life has broken down, what with his dad leaving and his sister battling with anorexia. At school he is one of the most unpopular kids and his two best friends have ditched him.
The book opens with the death of his sister Karen and Donnie trying to revive her, which is quite an interesting opening, bec...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Apr 15, 2009
Melissa
added it
4Q 2P JS
Donnie, at fourteen years old, feels it is his responsibility to save his sister Karen from an eating disorder and to solve the marital problems of his parents. In the process he gradually disappears and loses himself. He is a true outcast at school now that his “loser” friends no longer acknowledge him. His parents’ arguments have now resulted in them living apart in separate towns, although they instead claim the cause is his father’s job. Donnie and his mother are now at a loss at try...more
Donnie, at fourteen years old, feels it is his responsibility to save his sister Karen from an eating disorder and to solve the marital problems of his parents. In the process he gradually disappears and loses himself. He is a true outcast at school now that his “loser” friends no longer acknowledge him. His parents’ arguments have now resulted in them living apart in separate towns, although they instead claim the cause is his father’s job. Donnie and his mother are now at a loss at try...more
aren and Donnie have a less than pleasant home life. They occupy the front steps during their parents' fights often enough that they keep provision hidden behind a loose stone. And it's on one such afternoon that they meet her. Amanda. Donnie is immediately smitten, Karen has an immediate best friend. But while Amanda becomes and easy out for Karen, Donnie finds himself left behind. Suddenly the fights are his alone to ignore.
Their happiest time comes the following summer, on their vacation up a...more
Their happiest time comes the following summer, on their vacation up a...more
WHAT THE BOOK WAS ABOUT: Donnie's sister Karen is dying to be thin. She has anorexia. But on top of that, his parents are fighting and his dad moved out "to be closer to his job." Everything is a mess in Donnie's eight grade life, his friends at school are ignoring him and all he wants to do is go back to that summer at the lake. Where everything was perfect. Except for his parents fighting. That's when it all started.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: There was a lot of swearing. And for some reason I didn't...more
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: There was a lot of swearing. And for some reason I didn't...more
The book I just finished is called Skin. It is written by Adrienne Maria Vrettos. It is a realistic fiction book. This book was recommended to me by Mr. Rusch and it is about a boy named Donnie and his sister Karen, and her best friend, Amanda. Donnie is a freshman in high school and his sister and her friend are juniors. The story is told from Donnie’s perspective. In the first couple of pages, Karen collapses on the floor and dies. She is anorexic. The story is a flashback. Donnie and Karen’s...more
Adrienne Maria Vrettos' Skin is a gripping account of a 14 year old boy caught up in a dysfunctional family and his sister's battle with anorexia. The opening pages show Donnie as he tries to revive his sister, Karen, but to no avail, beginning with a bang and then backtracking to show the year leading up to her death. Karen and Donnie's parents fought often, bringing the children closer together as they drifted apart, and the two developed a system of hiding outside whenever the arguing began....more
Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos is about a 14 year old boy, Donnie who feels invisible. Nobody wants to spend time with him at school and at home it just gets worse. His parents are going through rough times together, and all eyes are on Donnie's sister, Karen. Karen suffers from weight truobles and becomes anorexic. She loses her best friend, who is all of her support and keeps her pushing. Donnie everyday worries about his sister and what she will do to herself next. I really enjoyed reading th...more
14-year-old Donnie's family is messed up. His parents fight all the time and his sister has a serious eating disorder. He does what he can for them, but what he tries to do for himself is hide. If no one sees him, no one talks to him, no one even acknowledges he's there then somehow the problems will go away. When disaster strikes, Donnie realizes he needs to take action to save himself and he finally jumps out of his skin.[return][return]Although it's clear how part of the story will end from t...more
Skin is about Ronnie and his family, and his sister dying from anorexia (you learn about her death within the first few pages). Their entire family fight every day, and his parents seperate.
I feel awful for Ronnie. Growing up him and his sister, Karen, had a little refuge box that was stashed outside so that when their parents started fighting they could have snacks and something to do. Ronnie is ignored throughout the book, for the attention of his parents go to Karen, who was always arguing w...more
I feel awful for Ronnie. Growing up him and his sister, Karen, had a little refuge box that was stashed outside so that when their parents started fighting they could have snacks and something to do. Ronnie is ignored throughout the book, for the attention of his parents go to Karen, who was always arguing w...more
An amazing story about a boy's struggle to fix what has been broken. Bonnie's life is falling apart. His parents are constantly fighting, his older sister Karen has an eating disorder and is starving herself to death, and his so called 'friends' have thrown him away like month old pizza. He knows he must act fast, but when each day becomes a struggle, it's easier to blank out, become invisible, watch the world around you crumble, then to face each day.Bonnie knows that he must salvage the remain...more
This to me was two tales in one: the tale of a girl with anorexia, and the tale of her brother. But blended together it is a cautionary tale. Not just regarding the possible horrific consequences of anorexia, but of the issues that result when the problems of one person in the family take so much energy that everyone else is nearly destroyed.
Granted the parents' marriage is falling apart, and their daughter's disease hastens it. But son's efforts to be invisible, walk on eggs for his sister, and...more
Granted the parents' marriage is falling apart, and their daughter's disease hastens it. But son's efforts to be invisible, walk on eggs for his sister, and...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Skin is a book about a boy called Donnie who has a sister suffering from anorexia. I recommend it because it's beautifully written and a very fresh angle on the usual 'girl with eating disorder' story line. Also, I feel not enough people know about it.
It gets me every time.
It gets me every time.
I felt like this book took a little too long in picking up and actually telling the story it was trying to tell, but Donnie, the 14 year old narrator, had such a realistic voice and kept me reading. The book deals with anorexia from the viewpoint of a brother. The anorexia was dealt with very un-melodramatically, which I'm thankful for, and Karen's situation rang very true in my opinion. I'm not really sure what I was supposed to get out of the ending though. Donnie is a misfit and doesn't reall...more
Lovely read, read it in a day because it's quite easy in its structure to be honest. I'm quite sure though that this is intended to show the age of the narrator. This is comforting.
Suffering with anorexia myself, I thought that tho would be an interesting read from a different point of view, simply because I often wonder how my eating disorder affects my little brother - just a year older than Donnie.
This made me realise that he cares a lot more than I think he does, as a lot of the things withi...more
Suffering with anorexia myself, I thought that tho would be an interesting read from a different point of view, simply because I often wonder how my eating disorder affects my little brother - just a year older than Donnie.
This made me realise that he cares a lot more than I think he does, as a lot of the things withi...more
When I first picked up this book I wasn't sure if I would like it, but it was really good. The prologue was very interesting, which is what the story over all led up to. So the story starts with his family and all the problems they have, just provong that nobody has a perfect no matter what you think. This story leads up to the death of the older sister. When it happens it's extremely sad, no one could help her. She knew she had a problem but that didnt stop her from continuing. Living how she...more
This book is sad. It starts with the death of the sister and then is told in flashback from the point of view of Donnie, the brother. Throughout the story, Donnie tries desperately to hold his family together and as he does this, he finds himself slowly disappearing. After Karen dies, Donnie has the chance to become who he would have been without her anorexia. This is the first book about eating disorders that I have read where the girl with an eating disorder dies, yet for that reason, it is re...more
14-year old Donnie narrates this book about his sister, Karen, and her bout with anorexia. A self-professed nobody, Donnie depends on his sister to be his friend, but his homelife and especially his parents' relationship is shattered as Karen's disease spirals out of control. Thinking that it will somehow help his sister, Donnie "disappears" into himself, and what results is a powerful narrative on what it's like to be the "other" child--the sibling often forgotten in the wake of family tragedy....more
Aug 20, 2012
Molly Harris
added it
This book has made me very angry at the fact that it skipped all over the place and i couldnt tell whether it was in the future or the past it was talking about. it was an overall good story yet i couldnt stand the writer's poor abilities to stay on track. She did, however, do a great job at keeping the reader with the book as she started with an amazing opener before she went into her rambling of poop throughout the middle pages of the book and to a somewhat mediocre ending. This book had much...more
When I picked this book up, I picked it up by the title. It looked mildly interesting.
I didn't know that I would love it.
Donnie's sister Karen is anorexic. They try and try to help her, but they just can't. Karen doesn't get better.
Donnie's parents marraige is falling apart, and they barely even notice that he is loosing friends, becoming a "leper" in school terms.
How can you save someone that doesn't want to be saved? What choice do you have? You can't stop, can you?
This book really touched me...more
I didn't know that I would love it.
Donnie's sister Karen is anorexic. They try and try to help her, but they just can't. Karen doesn't get better.
Donnie's parents marraige is falling apart, and they barely even notice that he is loosing friends, becoming a "leper" in school terms.
How can you save someone that doesn't want to be saved? What choice do you have? You can't stop, can you?
This book really touched me...more
The beginning of this book really drew me in with the intense feeling of something bad yet exciting about to happen.
Told from the perspective of Donnie, this story was interesting. The idea was pretty interesting because it wasn’t told from Karen’s perspective, but from Donnie’s and how it effected him. Some of the characters were funny and easy to read about while others were boring. It felt like a toss-up between them and which one I would be reading and liking. The ending didn’t seem good to...more
Told from the perspective of Donnie, this story was interesting. The idea was pretty interesting because it wasn’t told from Karen’s perspective, but from Donnie’s and how it effected him. Some of the characters were funny and easy to read about while others were boring. It felt like a toss-up between them and which one I would be reading and liking. The ending didn’t seem good to...more
Donnie’s life is falling apart at lightning speed. His mother and father fight constantly and Donnie and his sister retreat outside to hide from the noise. His friends at school, well can we really call them friends if they use him and abandon him? His mother and his sister are his only life-lines and the tension there is mounting. His sister has anorexia and she is literally disappearing before his eyes. His mother is wound tighter than a drum and is on constant guard. His father ends up moving...more
A deep look into the life a girl (Karen) and her fight with anorexia; a fight she ended up losing. The story is mostly from the view of her brother Donnie, who stands by idly and watch his sister vanish into a skeleton. He tried throughout the story to sabotage his sisters drinks and small meals with protien powder, in hopes that she may gain some mass. His tries are all in vain, and his sister is in and out of eating disorder rehabs that don't seem to do anything but make her gain friends who g...more
Narrated by an early teenage boy, 'Skin' gives us an inside look at a family in crisis. Although the main presenting problem is Donnie's sister's anorexia, we gain insight into the dynamics of the whole family. Painful, raw and revealing could well be used to describe this novel. The title is indicative of the themes of the novel in many ways: How thin is the skin which covers our hearts; How Karen reduces herself to skin and bone; How much this story will 'get under your skin'. Excellent but he...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodreads Librari...: ISBN 978-1-4169-0655-1 | 2 | 13 | Aug 21, 2011 12:22pm | |
| Anorexia and Bulimia | 4 | 24 | May 02, 2008 09:11am |
Hellooooo there!
It's me, Adrienne. I'm the author of the just-released YA novel BURNOUT, as well as THE EXILE OF GIGI LANE, SIGHT, and SKIN.
This author picture is *exactly* how I look, ALL the time. I travel with a special lighting team to make me look dark and dramatic and like I'm always coming out of (or going in to?) the shadows.
Thanks for visiting my page!
xoxo
AMV
More about Adrienne Maria Vrettos...
It's me, Adrienne. I'm the author of the just-released YA novel BURNOUT, as well as THE EXILE OF GIGI LANE, SIGHT, and SKIN.
This author picture is *exactly* how I look, ALL the time. I travel with a special lighting team to make me look dark and dramatic and like I'm always coming out of (or going in to?) the shadows.
Thanks for visiting my page!
xoxo
AMV
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“I'm telling you this because you didn't ask. I've got it all here, growing like a tumor in my throat. I'm telling you because if I don't, I will choke on it. Everybody knows what happened, but nobody asks. And Elvis the EMT doesn't count because when he asked, he didn't even listen to me answer because he was listening to my sister's heart not beat with his stethoscope. I want to tell. It's mine to tell. Even if you didn't ask, you have to hear it.”
—
8 people liked it
“.. and I was a really fat kid, and that's why I do this to myself.”
—
7 people liked it
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