My mother loves many things, but two more than most: books and thrift shopping. Sometimes she combines the two, grabbing unusual hardcovers for a dollar or so from her favorite thrift store.

Because she's awesome, she sometimes mails them to me. Often wonderful, these are rarely the books I would choose for myself--most of the time, they're books I haven't even heard of.

That was the case with Pucker, a 2007 YA novel by Melanie Gideon that I'm quite sure I never would have encountered had my mother not been thoughtful enough to ship it to me (along with a T-shirt that says "I <3 Sparklers"--seriously, mom, you're awesome!). There seems to be very little buzz about this book online, and though I've been reading voraciously in YA genre for the past year or so, I hadn't heard of it.

After reading, I can't help but be surprised; Pucker may be incredibly idiosyncratic and downright strange at times, but it definitely was a compelling read.

It's the story of Thomas, a high school junior covered in scars; the wrinkled quality of his face earns him the eponymous nickname. Thomas was born in a parallel world called Isaura. On the other side of reality, people don't have electricity, or computers--but they can work magic and see the future. When he was young, Thomas' parents wore shimmering second skins and told one another their fortunes over the breakfast table.

But one day his parents are stripped of their skins thanks to an act of rebellion. Thomas' father perishes; Thomas himself is badly burned. His mother, apparently powerless now, flees to Earth, where she'll make a living as a fortune teller--and where Thomas will just try to stay afloat in public school.

His mother's powers eventually return, but she can no longer control them without her "seer skin." So Thomas journeys back to his home, where his face will be magically healed so he can work as a slave--and steal back his mother's skin.

Like I said above, this is an exceedingly weird story, and it takes place in a sparse, dreamlike reality. However, Gideon chooses to tell this story in a very straight-forward and direct way. Initially, I feared that this was a little info-dumpy, but soon, I found myself drawn in. I read this book quickly, and eagerly.

Why, then, has Pucker not garnered more positive press?

I can't help but feel that it has something to do with the quality of voice here. Thomas himself narrates, and while his voice is clear, consistent, and compelling, he's a generally pompous and unlikeable character. He gives in to his baser instincts repeatedly--this isn't just sex, but shallow and opportunistic sex with many partners who he doesn't even like--and he regards more than one endearing secondary character with disdain. This made him very hard to cheer for as a protagonist, and seemed to go deeper than normal personality flaws--Pucker really seemed to be a jerk.

Still, though I couldn't help but find our narrator to be distasteful, I'm glad I read his story and spent time in his world. It was strange, imaginative, and inventive, and the experience was worth at least $1.99 (and the price of shipping)!