Review Detail

Lia Kahn is dead, but then again maybe she's not. Before her death Lia had everything a seventeen year old girl could want. She was beautiful, popular, and rich. Then in a horrible accident her world is changed.  She is brought back from the dead with a sophisticated technology that uses AI and a synthetic body. She maintains all her old memories and in many ways she feels she is alive, but some things are very different. Faced with protestors who call what has been done to her an abomination, a sister her has taken over Lia's old life, and the abandonment of her friends the new Lia is left looking for answers to define who and what she has become.
     Skinned tackles some heavy issues including DNA selection, the use of AI, what separates man from machine, and several others. Controversial subjects like these are not uncommon in adult science fiction, but are not usually so obvious in YA. It was a nice change. Skinned is a thought provoking book that leaves you questioning what you believe and why you believe that way. If you like science fiction, think Orwell, Asmov, and Vernes, then you will probably really enjoy Skinned.