Review Detail

Fifteen-year-old Marisol shreds her skin every new moon. She follows in the footsteps of her soucouyant mother. They are Caribbean shape-shifters. Only now her mother has taken her to Brooklyn, far from her island home. Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor who is obsessed with Caribbean folktales and legends. Genevieve knows nothing about her mother. She also has a terrible skin condition that grows worse. Then her life collides with Marisol and they find they have something in common. A truth that is explosive in more ways than they'll ever could have thought.

What worked: Powerful, unique story told in verse of two unlikely girls who find they have a lot in common. What really worked in this story was the author's choice of using free verse that adds a punch to the magical element.

Soucouyants are Caribbean shape-shifters. Kind of like vampires that shed their skin and suck on the essences of those who harmed them. In the beginning, readers see Marisol's painful transformation into a soucoyant with her mother's help. The struggles Marisol encounters in the new country are very realistic as well.

Genevieve at first comes across as an arrogant girl but also one who can't deny a painful hunger that increases. When she first meets Lourdes, Marisol's mother, she senses a connection. She fights it to no avail. Her anger against her father grows when he reveals the truth. A truth that shatters everything Genevieve believed in.

The relationship between Marisol and Genevieve is complex. Both are jealous of each other in different ways. They quickly realize that they both need to work together. The alternative is worse.

There's family drama and betrayals, including one huge betrayal directed at both girls. Plus, a secret that can destroy lives.

A very twisty ending gives a new definition of karma.

Enthralling magical contemporary tale with Caribbean shape-shifters, where everything is more than skin deep.