Skinned by Robin Wasserman

Skinned
Robin Wasserman
ISBN 1416936343
368 pages
Simon Pulse, 2008

Genre: Science Fiction

Readers Annotation
In a future world, after Lia's body is mangled in a horrific car accident, her parents have her mind downloaded into a new mechanical body. Lia soon learns that she won't easily be welcomed back into society.

Plot Summary
Set in the future in a post-nuclear world, Lia is a queen bee at her high school: wealthy and popular with a great boyfriend. After she's in a terrible car accident, she awakes with strange memories. She remembers horrific pain and her limbs being torn off, but now she feels... nothing? Lia learns that her physical body was beyond repair. Her parents opted for a new and highly controversial procedure, in which her consciousness--all her thoughts and memories--is downloaded into a new mechanical body. Lia is now a "mech" (short for mechanical) or, more derogatorily, a "skinner." She looks human, and she feels human, but with her new body, she will never age, she will never grow sick, and she can never die, for if something happens to her mechanical body, she can simply be downloaded into a new one.

After physical therapy, where she learns to use her new body, she returns to home to protests. Religious activists protest Lia's very existence; they view the existence of skinners as a crime against God. Things at her old high school aren't much better. She's shunned by everyone. Her sister is dating Lia's boyfriend, and she's taken over Lia's place as the school's it girl. People, Lia learns, view her simply as the machine that is pretending to be Lia. Her parents even wish they hadn't gone through with the procedure.

The only people who show any interest at all in Lia are Auden, a fellow outcast at school, and a group of fellow mechs who, unable to feel anything but the most extreme of emotions, have turned into adrenaline junkies. Unlike Lia, though, they accept and revel in their status as outsiders. Where does Lia belong now? With the family and friends who now reject her? With the other mechs? And can she have a true friendship with Auden, or will her mech identity doom that relationship, too?

Critical Evaluation
This premise reminded me a lot of a book I read as a teen, Eva by Peter Dickinson, in which a teenage girl's brain is transplanted into the body of a chimpanzee. Like Lia, Eva struggles with finding her place. Though she has a human mind with the same consciousness she did prior to the procedure, humans cannot accept that she is truly human. Unlike Eva, Lia is welcomed into the community of skinners. Eva is clearly the more thoughtful, philosophical piece, while much of Skinned is devoted to high school politics, even after Lia is turned into a mech.  The future world isn't a richly drawn one, and a major plot point revolves around a futuristic version of MySpace or Facebook; I wondered, would social networking really look so similar hundreds of years in the future, even after a nuclear attack?  Many of the characters, especially Lia's teenage friends, are broadly drawn caricatures, though her relationship with her sister is more realistic and emotionally resonant.

However, that being said, the book does bring up a fair number of weighty issues. What makes us human? Does Lia's soul reside in her new mechanical body? Where do we draw the lie when it comes to medical advances? How far do we want to go with genetic engineering? And what role does religion play into all of this? While the book is mostly a fast-paced, plot-driven affair, these questions are very much explored.

It's a great choice to recommend to reluctant readers. Teenage girls who say they hate sci-fi may be drawn in by the extensive focus on Lia's social network, whereas teenage boys who like sci-fi may be intrigued by the premise of the story. If enjoyed by the reader, a more challenging book along the same subject matter, such as Eva or The Adoration of Jenna Fox, could be recommended.

Other Books in the Series
This book is the first in a planned trilogy. The second, Crashed, was published earlier this fall.

About the Author
Robin Wasserman is a young adult author who is perhaps best known for her Seven Deadly Sins series, about seven high school students who each display one of the sins. She also wrote the Chasing Yesterday trilogy, about a teenage girl who cannot remember who she is and exhibits some potentially dangerous powers.

Curriculum Ties
While not the weightiest book in the world on the topic, the book does explore some issues that could be used to inspire discussion and debate, such as what makes us human, how far should medical science go, and what is our place in the world?

Booktalking Ideas
1. Explain what happened to Lia and what a mech is.
2. Explore the problematic relationships between Lia and her sister Zo, who takes over Lia's life.
3. Talk about the relationship between Lia and Auden.

Reading Interest/Level
This book seems appropriate for high-school readers.

Challenge Issues
Some strong language and an attempted rape scene are potential challenge issues. Should the book be challenged, the librarian should be able to explain and defend the library's selection policy. The librarian could point to the numerous positive reviews the book has received as proof that it is an age-appropriate and worthwhile book.

Selection Criteria
Amazon suggested this book for me based on some other books that I was looking at. It had an intriguing premise, and the positive reviews from VOYA and SLJ helped me decide to read it.