***Thanks to Netgalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review***


This was one disturbing and real read because wether we like it or not this really happens and keeps happening.This novel really goes there with Hunter's ability to read, see and take away other's memories and pain. Trying to make sense of his own past, he stumbles upon violence and abuse like he's never seen before, and he is determined to help these people in any way he can.It was a hard read. I felt bad for the characters, for Hunter and Jazz and everything they had to go through.I get that he wanted to help but I think we could have gotten an explanation on how that is going to affect him. That's the part I didn't like and also that they didn't fully explain about his ability.

First of all, there are like a gazillion trigger warnings that should accompany this book (pretty much everything you could be triggered by is in this novel). So, it's definitely not for the faint of heart or people who are sensitive to difficult subject matter.

As someone who has dealt with some of the issues described in this book, I think I'm a pretty good person to judge whether it's authentic or not. There were some character decisions that made absolutely no sense based on their trauma history and diagnoses. But my main complaint about the novel is that there are science fiction elements that I thought should have been more clearly labeled that way. Someone who just picks up this book might not understand the nuances and the inaccuracies. For example, ECT cannot eliminate problem memories. It does not target specific memories in any way. To include this sort of fantastical thinking felt misleading to me.

However, there were elements that I thought were strong. The characters felt fully three-dimensional and were unique (finally, a female protagonist who isn't stick thin and perfect!). I also appreciated that the author seemed determined to drive home the point of the pervasiveness of abuse and trauma, so that her readers better understand how damaging and all-encompassing its effects can be.

Overall, this was an incredibly dark and depressing read that could have benefited from an afterword explaining which aspects of the book were realistic and which weren't.

This one was a DNF for me. I will not be posting a review of it but thank you for sending. it just wasn't for me. Thank you again for the copy

Needing a book to read before bed, I was scrolling and clicked on this book. I was going in blind as I didn't know what this one was about or could remember. I had previously read one of this author's books before that was a little odd, so had expected maybe something similar. The book starts with Hunter who can't seem to remember anything from his past, but lately, he has been having strong visions of people's stories and they all feature around sex whether it be a shame, abuse, or romance. As the book goes along, his best friend Jazz - will do some scientific experiments around memories and learn that Hunter is seeing the bad memories and those deep in the mind that are causing pain. In doing so though will this help Hunter unlock his memories and with Jazz by his side, will he be strong enough to relive the trauma he has tried to block or will it be another repeat that will cause more scars? Find out in this edgy YA high school read - Someone to Kiss my Scars by Brooke Skipstone. A word to readers, this book is dark and touches on some strong topics like incest, abuse, sex trafficking, paedophilia, rape, violence, purging, and death - so I would recommend an R16-R18 rating on this book.

Someone To Kiss My Scars deals with various triggers, such as abuse, sexual trauma, and pedophilia, but it covers these issues in a way that is honest about what teenagers go through every day. It covers these issues because most books targeting teenagers aren't nearly as upfront as they need to be. I did appreciate the trigger warnings at the beginning of Someone to Kiss My Scars, because the warnings gave me time to prepare for what I was reading. I highly recommend reading it!

Well written, interesting, gripping, scary, sad...

Deals with self harm, rape, incest...

That book moved me!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing access to this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the topics were handled well done and the characters felt like real people.

If you're going to write about heavy topics you better do so with sensitivity and skill. The writing of this book was a disservice to the subject matter and it was just not for me.

Hunter is a boy who doesn't remember his past yet he can somehow see other experiences and erase it from them. He is desperately trying to remember his story. While Jazz, his best and only friend desperately want to forget her story. ⁣
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Reading "Someone to Kiss My Scars" will force us to see the dark side of growing up for teens whom exposed to several violations. Beware though, it heavily describe the sexual abuse, mentioning quite detail about the drinking and brush through self-cutting. ⁣
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The book has very dark theme and really pushing the YA genre boundaries. ⁣
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Thank you @netgalley for providing me the arc in exchange of honest review.

** An ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review **

I liked the book from the very first page. The detailed on some scenes kind of disturbing me, yet the well-described characters kept me going. This one was good for a debut novel. Keep it up!! :)

Many trigger warnings including but not limited to : abuse, self harming, rape, pedophilia, incest, murder, violence,, suicide .I don’t like to be too negative but I found this too harsh, too in your face and graphic/explicit, I believe very strongly that these books do need to be written and read, but they need to be done well and sensitively and for me this wasn’t the case.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I found this book very hard to read but totally worth it, it highlights some really important issues in such a real way and is fantastically written.

This book brings awareness to sexual abuse in the most unique way. It will very likely make you uncomfortable. It SHOULD make you uncomfortable. If it doesn't, you may be just as awful as the villains in this story.

From the very beginning I was hooked. It was mysterious and I needed to unravel the mystery. It follows two best friends that have been through awful abuse. I think the only way to describe one aspect of this book is magic realism. I was so interested in finding out what exactly was going on. I finished it so quick. I don't really want to say what goes on bc it's a wild ride and I personally hate spoilers. Pick this one up! The only issue I can think of was that the end was a little awkward, but it didn't take away from the book for me.

I really appreciated the authors note at the beginning. She states that these stories shouldn't be covered up. That teens, (or anyone of any age really), shouldn't hide their abuse. Encouraging everyone to speak out, even if it seems like they shouldn't. Ignoring the fact that people get sexually abused every single day doesn't help anyone. Pretending it doesn't happen is another crime in itself. I loved the way she explained it. I didn't expect to stumble upon such a unique book, but i'm super happy I did.

After encountering a life changing trauma Hunter and his Dad end up moving to Alaska. Hunter has no memories of the last 16 years of his life and is desperate to remember anything about the past that his Dad stole from him. Hunter meets Jazz a nice nerdy girl who would do anything to forget many of her memories. They soon become best friends and partners in their own science experiment where Hunter tries to regain his memories and Jazz tries to find out a way to forget hers.

I was gifted with this advanced reader's copy through NetGalley. Another of my favorite genres is young adult; especially if the story revolves around mental health or drug use. This book comes with a trigger warning before you even get to begin reading about Hunter and Jazz. The warning is for good reason; this book surrounds the topic of sexual abuse, rape, and self mutilation. There were many parts that were very hard to read because of how graphic the scenes become. So, if you are to read this book in the future please be mindful of the topic that this book is surrounding and prepared yourself accordingly.

On GoodReads I rated this book a 3/5 for several reasons. I feel that this book is written very well seeing as though it surrounds very heartbreaking topics; topics, that not many people want to admit happens and even less want to talk about. The characters are very lovable and your heart breaks with them while you find out more about their personal stories and what they have been through. However, there were parts of this book that were confusing and weren't ever fully explained. For example at the beginning of this book there is a lot of talk about science and memories; where they're stored, how they're stored, and how they're made. However, once you get closer to the end of the book the science aspect of it drops off and the story focuses on other parts of the plot. I understand that there are other elements of the book that are more important than the science aspect but it just felt as though it ended very abruptly and without explanation. Another aspect of the book that confused me was the end. There were so many questions that I have about the characters and what happens to them and why but the end was very abrupt and unexplained. However, one thing that I loved about this book was the message that the author was sending throughout the story. You never know what someone else has been through or is going through. You never know what type of trauma haunts their minds while they're daydreaming or trying to sleep. Always be kind.

This book is being published October 17, 2019 so keep a look out!!

The summary of this book intrigued me, but the issue is that the writing just didn't match that excitement. I couldn't get myself to finish this book due to the fact it doesn't pull me into what's happening with the story or the characters. Such a good concept that doesn't meet the anticipation.

This book was a quick read that I really enjoyed. I will be looking for more works by this author. I was drawn in by the title and cover and what I found inside was a great story.

This book took me by surprise in an eye opening way. It didn’t shy away from hard topics (no spoilers) and try to cover up what many teenagers are going through. I like that it was a mystery too, with small pieces of the puzzle getting added chapter by chapter. I will definitely recommend to my kids when they reach high school age because I think it’s vital we all should be exposed to how other are living.

I dnfed this almost immediately. I have no desire to read anything that encourages 'slapping teens in the face' with traumatic issues.

while the premise was interesting and i cared about the characters, i skipped over most of this book to get to the end, all the sexual scenes were very redundant and in fact took away from the message, and i have worked as a counselor for sexually abused adults for many years. the writing didn't grab me nor did the mystery and it al felt predictable, too bad, could have been much better

Someone to Kiss My Scars was highly disturbing, emotional, and thought-provoking. The warning at the beginning of the book regarding its themes must be taken seriously, because this is a harsh read.

Characters: In some ways, I was able to connect to the characters quickly. They were realistic and honest, making it easy to sympathize with them. On the other hand, these characters experienced very drastic and intense feelings and events, so much so that my small mind can't even comprehend the pain. This made it difficult to understand where they're coming from.

Themes: As you can guess, Skipstone incorporated many thought-provoking themes throughout the entire story. There is evidence of motifs of friendship, self respect, family, abuse, self harm, love, and life throughout the book, a sign of a well written story. Even though Someone to Kiss My Scars may have scarred me, I also took away a few valuable lessons after reading it.

Other Notes: Someone to Kiss My Scars is a very emotional, explicit books that can and will trigger sensitive readers. I chose to skip certain scenes in this book that had explicit abuse, sex, violence in them. Fortunately, those scenes did not take away from the book as a whole, meaning you can read this story without having to read the whole book if you are uncomfortable.