Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

Title: Skim
Author/Illustrator: Mariko Tamaki (author), Jillian Tamaki (illustrator)
Number of Pages: 144 pages
My Rating: 5/5

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.

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, but they're not. They're just part of what happens. That's part of what makes this feel like a story about teens rather than a story particularly for teens (though it's not inappropriate for teens by any means).

I really love the art, too. The style is obviously Japanese-influenced...but not manga-influenced. Instead, it immediately calls to mind traditional Japanese paintings (check out the cover here), which makes for a rather unique comic style and one I really enjoyed.

Comments

[avuxeni.livejournal.com]

Looks awesome. I just added it to my wish list. Thanks for recommending it!

[puritybrown.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm glad you liked it!

That's a good point about the traditional Japanese art influence -- it's an influence that creeps into Western art both directly and indirectly in all sorts of unexpected places.

[whereweather.livejournal.com]

ooh, this does look fascinating. adding it to my reading list.

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

Ordinary -- yes! It's the story of a girl. That's one thing that I loved about the book, too.