Skin: a novel

Our narrator, Donnie, is a fourteen year old with a family falling apart--his sister has anorexia, his parents are fighting constantly, and his father is clueless about raising his own children. In the midst of all this, no one has time hear from Donnie.

While this book is written to be Donnie's narration of his older sister Karen's disease, it also pulls in Donnie's own high school struggles in a moving, painful story. I thought this was a decently written, emotional journey that will connect with most teens (regardless of gender).

p. 120: "Every day since Karen's been gone, I practice floating through the school halls like a ghost. I don't touch anyone and I imagine that the times I do I brush up against their arms it feels like a clammy, cold breath on their skin. I sit in the back of class and I don't raise my hand. I ignore everyone, even the teachers. Not the kind of ignoring where you jut out your chin and hope that everyone notices you ignoring them. I ignore them like we're not even in the same universe. I ignore them because it's easy: I'm not even here. My goal is to get through the whole school day without anyone talking to me. I decide once I do that, I'll become a superhero. I'll become Donnie Disappeared."