Thin Skin

by Emma Forrest

Book Overview

Ruby is a bedraggled romance heroine who left home at 15 and became a film star. Charming yet destructive, she has left the man who loves her, been fired by her agent, and is starring in a film opposite a delectable actor. Striking, funny, and razor sharp, Thin Skin allows readers to follow Ruby to the edge and back again.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743464818
• ISBN13: 9780743464819
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: MTV Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

One of the best books I have read in the last 5 yrs

I am a sucker for a coming of age story but this one is a cut above the rest. Ruby is a very real, very disturbed, very fragile and beautiful protagonist and this book is a remarkable achievment for writer, Emma Forrest. For fans of "Namedropper" this book may come as a suprize. In contrast to the quirky, funny and loveable character, Viva of "Namedropper", Ruby is a dark and sad leading lady. Of course, this book is never dull and readers get to watch model, Ruby in her quest for love and her own self-injury. In a society where so many girls struggle with eating disorders and self-mutilation it is important for novels to be written on the subject. However dark, Ruby's path may be, there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel. This was one of the most moving, darkly complex and enthralling books I have read in the last five years. Few contemporary authors are able to engage me. This book was a one-night read. I read it cover to cover!

Powerful

Deeply provacative and powerful twist on a realm of a destructive force of a girl. Even though the character may have seemed difficult to relate to on a practical level, it's a glimpse into a human's own self destructive nature. It's reality in the rawest sense making it difficult to grasp. But the powerful dagger of force behind Ruby is disturbing as well as intensely real as her soul imitates the lack of purity and innocence in the human soul.

Really Made Me Think

I just finished Thin Skin, and it was very difficult for me to do. Not because Ms. Forrest is a poor writer, totally the opposite. But because Ruby is exactly like me, down to the very last detail. Maybe those of you who thought Ruby is an amateur character, or just plain annoying, have never met someone who needed help like that, but the reason I could hardly stand reading about her was because it was like reading a friends diary, that said exactly what they really thought of me. It wasn't pretty. I've known I've needed serious help for a long time now, but it wasn't until I read thin skin that I seriously begain considering what I would turn out like if I continued this way. While there is very little, if any, plot, and it does tend to ramble, those of you who know what its like to be alone, to be terrified of food, to hate yourself so much you go out there, looking for someone elses love to fill the gap, will be able to relate. And those of you who know someone like that, and really just cant understand, this is probably the book for you too. For those of you who dislike ruby, find her annoying and a pain in the ass, keep in mind while you read that there are real people out there,like me, who are the same way, and they need your help too. Thin Skin REALLY made me think, about myself.

Extremely intriguing writing style, with a rail-thin plot

This is an unusual book to recommend, because it is not the story or characters that kept me intrigued, but the writing style of the young Emma Forrest. Her style is quirky, intriguing, and out of nowhere. She could describe baking a cake, and you'd be interested. The observations made through her characters are written in a style that stays in your head, even if the characters do not.Although I recommend this book, the plot is not much to recommend. The story centers around Ruby, a Christina Ricci-esque actress who is described as narcisscistic, bulimic, and selfish, and has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Although we get a peek into her past, the death of her mother, and her emancipation from her father, it is difficult to feel any real connection to her as a character. There is no real cohesiveness to her relationships with any of the other thinly-drawn characters in the book, including the painter she has pined for since the age of twelve. Ruby has no conscience, and I found it impossible to feel connected to her or her story.Still, Emma Forrest is very young, and has a tremendous amount of potential. I would like to read other things she has written, since she simply writes in a style that reels you in, regardless of the vapidness of the plot or characters.

Life isn't pretty.

I adored Namedropper, so was thrilled to hear that Emma Forrest had a new book out. I hate to repeat what others have already said, but I couldn't put this one down either. Forrest's voice is always authentic; even when her scenarios seem unbelievable, her characters never cease to live. Ruby may be a self-pitying mess (somewhat similar to Elizabeth Wurtzel in Prozac Nation), but there is a twisted sense of humor to the whole thing that makes it bearable, even enjoyable, to accompany her on her downward spiral. My favorite thing about both Forrest's books is that while her female characters spend much of their time chasing men, they find resolution in their lives alone. There's no "happily (married) ever after" here, just a girl with very real problems that manages to find a way out of them. Darker than Namedropper, but necessarily so. I read this book twice over in two days, and didn't want to put it down to go to work.