Hayley Lawrence, Skin Deep, Scholastic Australia, July 2021, 288 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760976446
The pretty girl? The scarred girl? Or the girl who survived?
Scarlett was gifted with beauty, but she was permanently scarred and injured after being badly burned in a car fire and now she’s struggling to adjust. Who is she when she’s not the pretty girl in class anymore? Scarlett convinces her dad to take her on an extended trip to Matilda Mountain, a desolate place in the wilderness, to get away from the stresses of coping with life and school in this unfamiliar persona. And while at Matilda Mountain, an unexpected friendship with a local family enables Scarlett to realise that there is more to her than what people can see. And that beauty is more than skin deep.
This thoughtful and insightful novel told from Scarlett’s point of view will appeal to older readers, aged 12+. The early part of Skin Deep is focused on Scarlett’s concern about her appearance and activities such as dancing that she can no longer do in the same way, but once the story moves to Matilda Mountain, the character of Eamon is introduced, and Scarlett begins to look towards the future and different experiences of life.
The book carries an important message – that of looking beyond people’s appearances and bringing to life the saying that ‘Beauty is more than skin deep’. Hayley Lawrence has done a masterful job of wrapping this moral in a poignant story that teenagers will relate to without feeling like they’re getting a lecture. And that’s great news, because it’s a message that is so relevant in this world of selfies and photo filters.
Lawrence was inspired to write Skin Deep after working in the world of motor vehicle accident claims and seeing the number of young people left with catastrophic, life-altering injuries following car accidents. This gives Scarlett’s story a depth that it might not have had if it had been written by an author with different life experiences.
Skin Deep is a meaningful story about survival and about coping when life doesn’t go the way you expect. But’s it also an engrossing tale that will keep teenage readers engaged right until the last page.
Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Caroline Arnoul
