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Under My Skin (2012)

by Charles de Lint(Favorite Author)

3.94 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0670065331 (ISBN13: 9780670065332)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Razorbill Canada

series

Wildlings

review 1: Under My Skin is a complex story for the young teens of Santa Feliz. Josh Sanders is a seventeen year old who is often picked on because of his size. Josh is known to have a bit of a temper, and one night when his mothers boyfriend Steve pushes things too far for accusing Josh for using his computer and when Josh tells him the truth that he didn’t touch it, Steve pushes Josh. All of a sudden Josh feels this rage in him and without any warning Josh snaps and transforms into a mountain lion right in front of Steve. Josh attacks Steve and then panics and runs out of the house. When Josh is outside and he’s this animal he is amazed by how much stronger his senses are. The next thing Josh remembers is waking up naked behind a dumpster the following day.As Josh is trying t... moreo get his bearings his suddenly notices a boy watching him. Josh thinks there’s something wrong with him when he can see this boy has a coyote head but it switches back to human. The boy introduces himself as Cory, and that Josh is a wildling and so is he. Cory tells Josh that they are sort of cousins through their blood. While Josh is trying to absorb what Cory has just told him they go get something to eat, and Josh finds out that he is wanted for hurting Steve. Josh is shocked to hear that he didn’t kill him, and relieved at the same time. Cory tells Josh that he needs to keep a low profile until things are sorted out.Marina is Josh’s friend, and Josh and Marina are both wildlings but neither one know about each other. When Marina hears about Josh’s moms boyfriend she soon get’s herself right in the middle of the police investigation. Marina doesn’t know where Josh is so she just tells them he hangs around his friends mostly but that is all she knows.When Josh shows up shortly after Marina is questioned, the police have a lot of questions for him. Steve told them that a Mountain lion attacked him, so they aren’t taking his statement very seriously. They actually rather make sure that Josh is ok living with them his mom and Steve. When Josh tells the police what Steve is like they ask if they’d like to press charges on Steve because they believe he’s being abusive to Josh, but they say no. Josh, Marina and their friend Elzie that Josh met on the pier one day all have secrets, but as soon as Josh can, he shares with Marina that he is a Wildling. Marina and Josh are really close, and Marina likes Josh more than friends, but is afraid of hurting their friendship. It doesn’t take long for Elzie and Josh to really like each other, and it kills Elzie inside. Marina is an Otter and hasn’t told anyone yet. Marina doesn’t like seeing Josh with Elzie, but soon Elzie can feel the tension ans tries to make things smooth between her and Marina. Elzie can tell that Marina and Josh are changelings, because she can sense with others are around. Marina ends up writing a blog about being an otter and it doesn’t take long to track it down that it was Marina.The FBI come to question Josh at school one day to see if he knows any wildlings. Josh denies knowing anyone, but he can tell they aren’t going anywhere.To break it down in Santa Feliz the authorities have been noticing teens are disappearing and Wildlings are around. They want to quarantine them to prevent any contamination through out the town. Along the way Josh and Marina find out they are not alone. There are more Wildlings than they could ever imagine. Josh’s friend Cory that he met the first night he changed tells Josh to not Change in front of anyone. That way they can’t confirm what he is and they cant take him away.With the FBI following them they have to come up with plan on what to do next. A man by the name of Jason Lindel speak with Josh to see if Josh know any one the changlings. When Josh denies knowing anything about Wildlings. He doesn’t know anyone, they continue to follow him around.With Marina’s, Josh’s lives on the line they search to find out how far back the changelings have be around and they find out they have been around forever. They have to work together to find out what happens in their lives belong a Changeling . When Josh is with Marina and Des, in the library he sees that there are half a dozen men in suits waiting for him. All Josh wants to do is change and run off but remembers what Chaingain said about making sure he doesn’t change in front of anyone, but they still tazer him.All Marina wanted to do was change and go after them but she knew that wouldn’t help anyone. Marina, Elzie and Des know they have to go save Josh.This kids work together and save josh
review 2: I'm not generally a dedicated reader of YA fiction, mostly because I am way older than that! Still, I hate to miss excellent books, so I do read some, and this is a great example of why I do so.The characters are very well-drawn- oddly, more the secondary characters than the 2 POV characters; both of the POV characters had such similar voices that it was sometimes hard to tell whose perspective we were in.Still, it helps that the POV characters were only 2; it gets very confusing when authors have 10+ ones, especially when they randomly jump between them. Here, the POV stuff is strictly written in the first person, depending on who is writing/telling the chapter.It's all present tense. I know some people loathe that; I don't especially mind, it, though I'm not sure that I see the point.It's a nice twisty plot, too, full of unexpected alliances and oppositions- many of which reflect various kinds of character growth. The plot arc in this book was more-or-less resolved, though it leaves much room open for the sequels- one of which is now out, and I'm eager to read it.The shapeshifting is handled well, I think, as a natural skill rather than a disease, or something attached to the phases of the moon.Recommended for teens, and for adults who don't mind reading the POVs of teens. less

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