Turnskin

I really can't say enough about this book. What a fantastic and intelligent novel. Of course, the story is wonderful but the underlying essence of what the author is trying to show us about our own world (even if the one she is describing is a very alternative universe) is difficult to describe. It's just amazing. Read it if you care about how our culture sees and treats the "different", the ones it cannot fit in a small box and just classify. Buy it if you understand that is never that simple and that we can't just close our eyes and pretend the bad and ugly we don't want to see doesn't exist; that we are all different and all valuable. You'll love it.

Wonderful! The main characters are well developed and engaging, the dialogue is entertaining. There is a little bit of everything in here: racism, ghettoization, classism, elitism, lookism all portrayed in a seemingly alternative universe but the issues are all present day, real world. A great read, I didn't want to get to the end.

There are other reviews for this work, so I will avoid telling you about the characters, their problems, and the story. Instead, I will tell you that the shifter theme is used here to good effect to explore problems of prejudice. In a world where a shifter can look like, or impersonate, anything he or she wants to be -- any sex, any gender, any class, any profession -- it makes no sense to judge anyone by other than the content of their character. Kimberling puts her characters in situations where others make speciesist remarks after mistaking them for one of their own and where famous people reveal that they weren't always what they now appear to be. This aspect of the book makes it part of a moral conversation that is still unfortunately necessary in this country.

I have a wonderful time reading this. The setting is magical and enchanting, the writer's descriptions vivid. If this her debut, I am in awe of her talents. The writer has created a fascinating world occupied by Shifters (shapeshifters who are not animals but they do have different coloured fur or hair and some with muzzles) and Skins (humans since they are practically hairless by comparison). The Skins are the higher order specie, most treating the Shifters with comtempt. But that does not prevent the Skins from hiring the Shifters as impersonators, a very original concept in the story indeed. Both main and side characters are lively, refreshing and well flushed out, each one distinct and fun. Tom is a very likable hero, as this small town half breed (born of a shifter mother and a human father) conquers obstacles and fights for his dream and lover in the big city. You just want this vulnerable, decent but brave character to succeed. Cloud Coldmoon, a Shifter from a "Mafia" Shifter family, is the dangerous but sexy boyfriend, providing twists and turns throughout the story. Then there are all those charming side characters. Tom's three delightful cousins who take the naive Tom under their wings, Tom's protective female friend, Angela, in the early chapters, Cloud's tough brother, Seven, and the Skins from the threatre world, just to name a few. The plot is very original, well paced, with exciting and romantic moments as we follow young Tom's adventures. The writer's prose is most engrossing and charming. And you just have to be captivated by all the impersonations and shiftings. This is the second release from the same publisher of "Wicked Gentlemen". Turnskin is unique and a real charmer. Excellent!

I was expecting something gothy, (werewolves or vampires),but what I got was a really well written urban fantasy. The story follows Tom as he leaves behind his small town roots--as well as a murder and a dangerous, sexy boyfriend-- to try and make it in the big city. Of course, neither the murder nor the boyfriend stay behind him for long. The setting is exotic and realistic, the fantasy elements blending easily with the mundane -- rickshaw drivers compete with cars for the roads, tourists gawk at shape-shifting prostitutes and gossip about which film stars are Shifters. It feels like a real place, and the characters that inhabit it are subtle, diverse and fun. (I loved Tom's cousins and their run down theater with velvet seats and falling plaster). Of course Cloud, the sexy, dangerous boyfriend steals the show, still it was Tom, with his blend of vulnerability and determination, who made me feel for him so much that by the end I was quietly cheering as he faced down crooked cops and theater critics alike. Go Tom!