Skinned by Robin Wasserman

Lia Kahn used to have everything. Her family was rich, she was genetically perfect, and everyone knew her. But popularity, money, and good health couldn’t stop the car from malfunctioning, resulting in an accident that killed Lia—or at least, most of her body. Now Lia has been downloaded into a newer, more perfect body. She will never age or feel pain or die. But her second chance at life comes at a high price. She is rejected by nearly all those around her because she isn’t exactly human anymore. And the more others fear and hate Lia for who—or what—they think she is, the more she starts to question herself. Who is Lia Kahn? She died—yet she’s still here.

Skinned is a gripping of identity, power, and the choices we make that is set in a futuristic world of medical and technological advances we can only dream of today. This novel asks many of the same questions about life and humanity that the similar novel The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson does, but in a slightly different manner that makes this story fresh and interesting. Through Lia’s struggles and questions about herself, the reader experiences the postmodern concepts of the uncertainty in identity, of the validity of free will, and how far is too far. It may seem a little depressing how the little flaws in things like judgment end so tragically for many of the characters, but the real beauty of this story lies in the humanity it reveals, for what is emotion but human? Skinned is a thrilling must read that will challenge the way many readers think, appeal to their emotions, and leave them craving more.

This thought provoking novel will be enjoyed by fans of The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson and the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. I eagerly look forward to the rest of this trilogy.

Rating: 4.5

Review copy from personal collection