Skim (aka. Kimberly Keiko Cameron) is many things. She is a student at an all-girls Catholic school. She is possibly depressed. She is at least half Asian (Japanese, perhaps) She is a practitioner of Wicca and possibly a lesbian. She has a broken arm for the majority of the book. Her nickname is because she is not wafer thin, but a little plump.
At the beginning of this story, Katie Matthews' ex-boyfriend, John Reddear, kills himself. This launches the school into efforts to "Celebrate Life". Skim doesn't want to participate in these events, to the dismay of the school counselor and some of the other students. As it turns out, Katie doesn't care for the efforts either.
Skim's relationships change a great deal through the book. At the begininng she is friends with Lisa (a fellow Wiccan), but they grow apart, for better or worse, throughout. Skim falls in love with her English/drama teacher, Ms. Archer, who then moves away. Strangely, Skim becomes friend with Katie, a popular type, because they bond over their hatred for the Girls Celebrate Life group and similar attempts to lift the spirits of the student body at their school.
Skim is a quick read (it took me maybe an hour) and is worth the time. It raises questions of love (heterosexual and homosexual) and death. Many of the characters grow in the 143 pages and handle death and love in different ways.
