~Book Review~Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim

At the age of eight Brian Lackey is found bleeding under the crawl space of his house, having endured something so traumatic that he cannot remember an entire 5 hour period of time. During the following years he slowly recalls details from that night, but these fragments are not enough to explain what happened to him, and he begins to believe that he may have been the victim of an alien encounter. Neil McCormick is fully aware of the events from that summer. Wise beyond his years, curious about his developing sexuality, Neil found what he perceived to be love and guidance from his baseball coach. Now, ten years later, he is a teenage hustler, a terrorist of sorts, unaware of the dangerous path his life is taking. His recklessness is governed by idealized memories of his coach, memories that unexpectedly change when Brian comes to Neil for help, and ultimately, the truth.

My thoughts on this book: I was a little shocked at the explicit nature of the sex scenes in this story. After reading the back cover, I had a pretty good idea of what it was about, but was unprepared for the graphic descriptions. That being said, this is a story that will grab you from the beginning. I liked the fact that each chapter was narrated by a different person, so you were given different points of view throughout the story. The author, Scott Heim, did an excellent job creating the story of Brian and Neil, from the summer of 1981, to the present. This book is not for the faint of heart...it is a powerful story that delves into sensitive subjects such as pedophilia, homosexuality and drug addiction. Mysterious Skin never loses its continuity...it is consuming right up until the very end.

Three Stars

Publisher: Harper Perennial

304 Pages

ISBN-10: 0060841699