Pacing can really make or break a novel and can be the difference between a good read an a forgettable read. The Skin and Its Girl has truly impressive writing, and both the story and the characters are great, but at times the pace just felt slow.

In "The Skin and Its Girl," we are introduced to Betty Rummani, a character born far from her family's ancestral roots in Palestine, marked by a unique cobalt blue skin tone. On the day of her birth, a tragic event occurs as an airstrike destroys the Rummani family's historic soap factory in Nablus. Aunt Nuha, the family matriarch, views Betty as a living symbol of their sacred history, connected to the blue soap that once represented legendary love. Years later, Betty finds herself at an emotional crossroads at her aunt's grave, torn between familial bonds and her love for another woman, mirroring her aunt's own experiences of exile.

This novel deeply moved me, evoking emotions that break and heal in a profoundly beautiful way. If you're considering adding a Palestinian novel to your reading list, this should be it. "The Skin and Its Girl" is a poetic exploration of not only Betty's life but also her aunt's complex journey with identity and the haunting legacy of a fractured family history. The narrative unfolds through layers of stories within stories, told from the perspective of an older Betty reflecting on her childhood and her aunt's struggles. The prose is intimate and almost dreamlike, delving into themes of identity, family, and the intertwining of myth and history.

Sarah Cypher's writing style, seems inspired by the enchanting storytelling of Arabian Nights. The line, “As you used to say, Auntie, a piece of yarn stretched out in a straight line is a waste of wool,” captures the essence of the narrative. These layers enrich our understanding of the two main heroines, reminding us that “Nothing happens in a straight line, not life or love or even time.”

The book weaves together themes of family, identity, patriotism, history, mental illness, love, and self-acceptance. The power of language is another prominent theme; from the start, we see how Betty recognizes her aunt's deceptions, which have obscured her true self. Through her aunt's journals, Betty begins to unravel these lies, creating a connection with Nuha while also discovering parts of herself along the way. Nuha’s struggle with diaspora reflects not only her physical displacement from her homeland but also a deeper estrangement from her own identity, influenced by the fabrications she has told herself.

A particularly poignant scene occurs when Aunt Nuha attempts to return to Palestine, retracing her childhood steps. Detained by Israeli security, she faces a heart-wrenching questioning of her identity and intentions. This moment resonated with me profoundly, as I have experienced similar situations—waiting in that same line, feeling my identity scrutinized. The phrase "There is no such thing as Palestine" struck me like a dagger, prompting me to pause and reflect. Later, as Nuha confronts the ruins of the factory, the debris becomes a graveyard of lost dreams. It’s scenes like these that demand to be shared, urging readers to understand and empathize with the realities faced by those caught in the turmoil of displacement.

In "The Skin and Its Girl," Cypher has crafted a remarkable narrative that not only explores the intricacies of personal and collective identity but also invites readers to witness the resilience of the human spirit amidst the complexities of life. This is a story that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page.

Wow, what a surprising book. It was beautiful, contemplative, hopeful, striking. An especially affecting novel given what we've gone through in the last year.

I'm always interested in any novel with Arab characters, but the writing in this one felt very contrived to me, and that's always a quality that makes it hard for me to get into a book. The writing felt very tryhard in a way that got prevented me from immersing myself in the story.

What a bewitching story. The Skin and Its Girl soars way beyond the jacket summary. I was expecting more focus on our blue-skinned narrator, but she felt less like the protagonist than did the landscape of the Rummani family tree and ancestral Palestine itself. I loved the magical realism inserted into the tales Nuha told Betty, their recurring appearances over the course of the book, and the slow revelations of them to be true stories from their family's past. My main gripe was the choice of first/second person POV, which felt unnecessary and sometimes forced during the portions when Betty was recounting events either too early for her to remember, or wholly irrelevant to "you" (Nuha). Besides that, I was completely swept up by Cypher's literary storytelling, and definitely recommend this book.

It would be easy to assume this might be a book of magical realism or something intended to be quirky or offbeat if you weren't paying attention to the elements of the narrative unfolding in front of you. Our main character, Betty, is born an inexplicable shade of blue and she is surrounded by complex feminine figures with a knack for shifts at times of great change, but the story isn't about how she became something beyond human understanding so much as it's about how she and her family manage to make a life in spite of being so very different from other's expectations. Don't let the lack of fantasy fool you, this is a unique book with rich characters, complex narrative elements, and a blend of symbolism, purpose, and personal stories driving the plot.

A beautiful, important, relevant book for our ages. I hope to share this novel with many of my students.

This was DNF for me.

I couldn't get past the first chapter; and the girl with the blue skin.

I will update my review if I pick this back up and finish it but overall, it couldn't keep my attention after about a few pages in.

The point of view was wrong for this story. The stylistic choice mixed with the musicality of the the voice didn't mesh well together. I would've enjoyed it more if the point of view was different.

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of The Skin and It’s Girl by Sarah Cypher. This is the story of a young woman in the US from a Palestinian family. Her mother has planned to give her up for adoption, but instead she is kept in the family. We meet her as a young adult who is struggling with her sexuality and with family secrets. Unfortunately, it did not finish it, had another book I wanted to read more. Possibly I will go back to it in the future. #bookstagram #netgalley

Betty Rummani sits at her dear great-aunt’s gravestone, ruminating over a massive life proposition and wishing she was still here today to cure Betty’s indecision. Throughout this one day, Betty reveals the rich and often obscured history of the Rummani family in Palestine, all learned through Nuha Rummani’s carefully recorded journals. I can see why people wouldn’t like this - its pace is very, very slow and at times feels like it isn’t going anywhere. But this book felt very important to see through to the end given the context of Israel’s decades-long genocide and settler colonial project against Palestine 🇵🇸🇵🇸 The writing is so beautiful and poetic, such unique and delicately crafted storytelling, and there were full phrases and passages that almost made me gasp. Loved the blend of ancestry and mythology, the uncovering of obscured identities, and narratives of how the continuous decimation and fragmenting of entire bloodlines in Palestine due to Israeli occupation and displacement have a perpetual ripple effect on the Rummani family globally. Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC!

Dense, occasionally confusing, but important story about family. The best way I can describe it is that you know while reading that it's a good book but the process of reading it isn't enjoyable

One of those books where your mind is blown that this is the author’s debut. Just a brilliantly rich, complex, nuanced story about, well, an entire universe of themes but mostly the power of family, of stories, of women. The Rummanis and their lives, both past and present, were written so beautifully, so convincingly, that my heart ached. It felt like a book that I never wanted to end, a story so vivid I can’t grasp that it isn’t real.

The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher is a book for lovers of literary fiction who do not mind a bit of ambiguity. This book tackles themes of identity, secrets, and family history.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

A beautiful novel about a niece and her aunt - a relationship I don't often see centered in books. It wraps in magical and fantasy elements within literary fiction which for me, made it really enjoyable. Not to mention its queer!

A blue skinned baby girl is born to a mother of Palestinian descent on the US West Coast. The domineering great aunt swoops in to care for the child. The mother is a bit unhinged. The grandmother is preoccupied with caring for her dying second husband. The father has one hand and is divorced from the mother because of an affair. They are quite a cast of characters. The back story tells of some of the struggles that happened in Palestine after the British departed. I'm not getting into that. But it's interesting. I think the characters themselves are what make this novel what it is.

I definitely recommend this one.

I found it hard to get absorbed in this book. It wasn’t awful in the end because the story is one that needs to be read. The timeline felt all over the place and I had trouble understanding the order of events at times. I had to restart the book several times and ended up listening to the audiobook, but it still didn’t keep my attention easily.

Nuha and Saeeda Rummani leave a legacy for their descendants that's inspiring, brave and empowering. I appreciated the perspective of the main character in this story. And the family saga, like the soap factory and flue skin, were interesting. But the flowy language disrupted the story for me.

A gorgeous reflection on family lore, the evolution of identity, and stubborn love. Our protagonist confronts her own fears through the lens of her beloved great aunt: one of my favorite characters of the year. Full of juicy prose and strong imagery. I could not agree more that Cypher's debut reads like the work of a much more seasoned author.

“the world is full of salt blossoms it schools people not to see, even when we are right here in plain sight.”

it’s about the pain of exile, of being displaced from your home, disconnected from your land, pushed to the edges. ever reaching for your home, for your family, for the place you are loved and valued for simply existing. for being allowed to exist

“at stake were two futures: one where all the books of law and medicine behind his desk got to tell my story, where the world absorbed me, and another one where i kept being a wonder, an argument against the disappointing order of things.”

it’s a beautiful weaving of myth and realism, of the past and the present. the writing is beautiful. and also sometimes the numerous storylines were a bit jolting and hard to follow