Review: Under My Skin
08:00
By James Dawson
Source: Borrowed, paperback
Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Thriller, Paranormal,
Meet Molly Sue. Once she's under your skin there's no getting rid of her...
Seventeen-year-old Sally Feather is not exactly a rebel. Her super-conservative parents and her treatment at the hands of high school bullies means that Sally's about as shy and retiring as they come - but all that's about to change. Accidentally ending up in the seedier side of town one day, Sally finds herself mysteriously lured to an almost-hidden tattoo parlour - and once inside, Sally is quickly seduced by its charming owner, Rosita, and her talk of how having a secret tattoo can be as empowering as it is thrilling. Almost before she knows what she is doing, Sally selects sexy pin-up Molly Sue, and has her tattooed on her back - hoping that Molly Sue will inspire her to be as confident and popular as she is in her dreams.
But things quickly take a nightmareish turn. Almost immediately, Sally begins to hear voices in her head - or rather, one voice in particular: Molly Sue's. And she has no interest in staying quiet and being a good girl - in fact, she's mighty delighted to have a body to take charge of again. Sally slowly realises that she is unable to control Molly Sue... and before long she's going to find out the hard way what it truly means to have somebody 'under your skin'.
I really didn’t expect to love this as much as I did! I’ve heard good things about some of James Dawson’s books, but not as much about this one. I’m so glad this was my first book by him, because ended up absolutely adoring it. I can’t find one fault - this book is perfect for me! It’s everything I’ve been looking for and more.
It was so creepy too! I was actually pretty scared of this book. After finishing it at 9pm, I was buzzing, and couldn’t sleep for a long time. I’ve heard a few people saying this, but I didn’t really believe it until well into the book. At first, it was even making me want a tattoo even more, but now I’m not too sure...
I adored all of the characters right from the beginning. I loved Sally - she was strong, independent, yet at the start, there was plenty of room for development. She made all the right decisions, and I was never irritated by her. Whenever she did something, I was like “yes, girl!”. Fist pumps all the way for Sally.
Another thing I loved about this book was the plot. I loved how fast-paced it was - from the very beginning we were jumped into the action, and it was never slow at all. There were plot twists after plot twists, and I was overwhelmed by how shocking it was! Some people who’ve read the book won’t think that, because there was gentle parts in the story, but I found these just as engaging as all of the action scenes, because of how much I loved the characters.
This is one of those books that really is best when you don’t know much about it. I’ve tried really hard to not spoil it here, but you should just go and read it! This has become one of my favourite books of all time, and I honestly can’t tell you how much I love it. I think I’ll definitely be re-reading this one.
Hello! I'm D - a dog-loving feminist from the UK. You'll probably find me with my nose in a book or playing my clarinet
8 comments
I need this book! GAH. I love how you said there were lots of plot twists, and I am a sucker for twisty books like that. You just made me so excited :D And Sally seems to be an interesting protagonist. Can't wait to read! Thanks for the awesome review :D
ReplyDeleteJillian @ Jillian's Books
So am I - before hand, I had heard a few people praising it, which was the thing that really appealed to me, and I wasn't disappointed! I really hope you get to it soon. Thank-you, Jillian! :)
DeleteUmmm OKAY?! How come I don't know about this book? I'm a sucker for YA Horror ever since I read a few of them and CAN'T GET ENOUGH. I'm serious! I read "Say Her Name" by James Dawson which I hiiiighly enjoyed - it's about Bloody Mary - and it was kinda creepy, to be honest. I'm not one to get easily scared but I read it at night (around midnight) with some creepy music/noises and my back to the door ... Don't do that. I'm not sure WHY I did this but it worked. HOLY KEYBOARD, I didn't even want to leave my room because I had to walk by a mirror. Just nope, haha. :D
ReplyDeleteThis one definitely goes to my TBR list! I love the synopsis and everything you wrote made me even more excited. Thanks for sharing this, Denise - awesome review! :)
Yvonne @ A World Between Folded Pages
YA horror is so underrated!! This one is one of the best I've read - I'd highly recommend! I really need to read Say Her Name, especially after loving this one so much. That's the same with me - I like horror because the one's done best do scare me, and that doesn't happen often! I'll have to make sure I don't make myself /too/ scared though, haha! XD
DeleteI really hope you get round to it, Yvonne! As you can tell, I highly recommend it. Thanks for the comment! ♥
I've only heard good things about this book, and your review is repeating this all to me! I am glad that this book just seemed so perfect and especially that you could root for the main character and approve of all her decisions! That is always something which makes me really want to pick up a book. Loving the sound of this one :D
ReplyDeleteThank you, Olivia! I really hope you read it, maybe just so I could have someone to talk about this book to! It's awesome - I can't recommend it enough to everyone :)
DeleteWOAH, this sounds absolutely amazing - I've never heard of it before and normally never read horror (I'm a baby like that hahaha!), but because of this I think I might actually give it a go! I'm going to grab myself a copy of this soon. Amazing review and thanks for sharing! :D
ReplyDeleteThis one isn't too scary, so I think you'd still enjoy it! I've been trying to read a bit more horror, so this was perfect for me. Please give it a go! It's such an amazing book. Thanks, Anissa! ♥
DeleteThanks for commenting! I read and respond to every comment, so make sure to check back to see my reply. Have a nice day! ☺♥