Review: Beneath the Skin by Kyla Stone
Eventually I will remember to post reviews here...
I think I got this book as a part of stuff your kindle day because I genuinely do not remember purchasing it and know it was free.
This book actually hurt my feelings lmao. I related entirely too hard to Sidney as a character. I think the book falls under YA but it has a lot of triggering content so I'm gonna list warnings that I noticed since the author didn't include them.
Self harm, alcoholism, CSA, CSA by a family member, neglect, child abuse, domestic violence (parents), prison, patricide/murder of a family member, bullying, generational trauma, gun violence, pregnancy complications, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
My story isn't exactly like Sidney's, but I have a lengthy mental illness history and have struggled with self-harm for a long time. So I resonated with that. I also resonated with some of the trauma she has, and I'm not going into detail about that. What Sidney goes through is unimaginable but it's something that happens every single day.
Sidney is the oldest of 3 and lives with her neglectful mother, who smokes and drinks while pregnant and is married to an abusive man, their father. Sidney does everything she can to protect her brothers and is for the most part responsible for them. She works after school to try to save up money and leave her abusers and raises her 8- and 11-year-old brothers. But every time she thinks she's closer to leaving, to healing, something gets in the way.
The author lists resources for the topics at the end of the book, but I would have appreciated the warnings ahead of time. A worthy read but it has a lot of heavy stuff. I think I need to read something fluffy after this.