I've been a fan of Charles de Lint for many years and he has not failed me. "Under My Skin" is an engaging, easy to read story. His unique fusion of shamanistic mythology and the contemporary urbane doesn't seem to grow old. He extrapolates into new intriguing areas drawing the reader into the adventure. ( )

Come by my blog, Forever Lost in Books, for MORE reviews, giveaways, interviews and memes!


Title : Under My Skin
Series : Wildlings #1
Author : Charles de Lint
Pages : 409
Release Date : March 6th 2012
Publisher : Razorbill Canada / Penguin Canada
Format : Harcover
Source :
** a copy was provided by Penguin Canada in exchange of an honest review**


My Opinion :


Under My Skin is Charles de Lint's newest novel. He has published many others (which I have not read).

Under My Skin was a pretty good book. I enjoyed it quite a lot! Don't let the cover scare you away (because it kind of did with me...). The cover doesn't do the book justice; the book is great.

Under My Skin is about Wildlings, or Cousins, or, if you want, shapeshifters. The story revolves around Josh, a new shapeshifter, and Marina, his best friend and 5 months old shifter. Marina didn't tell Josh about hr being a Wildling... but Josh told her right away. What is she supposed to do? The Wildlings are becoming more popular, due to the outburst of new Wildlings in Santa Féliz, and they are in danger. Then, they meet other shapeshifters, and everything changes.

Under My Skin is the first novel in the Wildlings series, and I have to say, I can't wait to see what happens afterwards.

Fans of Kelley Armstrong's The Darkest Powers series will love this! I thought Kelley Armstrong'S series resembled this book a little. Just... the feel to it seemed the same. And, even though in Wildlings, they aren't running away from crazy people (they kind of are..), it just felt... the same. And, just so you you, I love that series, so, it'S a compliment!

Although the book was a good 409 pages, it was pretty much fast-paced, although sometimes it was a little boring, it was really great. I enjoyed most parts of it :D The writing was pretty simple; nothing that specail, but it was a really entertaining story, and I wanted to read the book faster to know what would happen (although, we didn't discover that much :S). I would ahve wanted to know why there had been an outburst of new Wildlings in Santa Féliz...

Although... there was something weird. Elzie, another Wildling girl, meets Josh, and after a day... they hook up. I mean, really? You were jsut saying Josh wasn't really confident and didn't really know how to talk to girls, and now he's hooking up with a girl he barely knows? I mean, first, you don't do tht in normal life. I mean, even though you feel like you are soulmates, you wait before hooking up (I mean, isn't that obvious!)!

Marina... I liked her enough. She was pretty much okay, although I wish she ahd told Jodh that she was a Wildling before! And I hope she ends up with him!

The other character were pretty okay, although some annoyed me, like Elzie kind of did... she said she didn't want a boyfriend, but... then she'S like a girlfriend to Josh? I mean, just try and make a real decision! ( )

I'm not generally a dedicated reader of YA fiction, mostly because I am way older than that! Still, I hate to miss excellent books, so I do read some, and this is a great example of why I do so.

The characters are very well-drawn- oddly, more the secondary characters than the 2 POV characters; both of the POV characters had such similar voices that it was sometimes hard to tell whose perspective we were in.

Still, it helps that the POV characters were only 2; it gets very confusing when authors have 10+ ones, especially when they randomly jump between them. Here, the POV stuff is strictly written in the first person, depending on who is writing/telling the chapter.

It's all present tense. I know some people loathe that; I don't especially mind, it, though I'm not sure that I see the point.

It's a nice twisty plot, too, full of unexpected alliances and oppositions- many of which reflect various kinds of character growth. The plot arc in this book was more-or-less resolved, though it leaves much room open for the sequels- one of which is now out, and I'm eager to read it.

The shapeshifting is handled well, I think, as a natural skill rather than a disease, or something attached to the phases of the moon.

Recommended for teens, and for adults who don't mind reading the POVs of teens. ( )

Felt a little like an X-men title with teenagers discovering their mutant abilities. (which isn't a bad thing - I grew up with those comics) Clean prose and competent characterization. I might read the next volume but I'm not waiting impatiently. ( )

I had fun reading this book. It wasn’t too bad, and it was interesting enough to keep me going until the finish. What I enjoyed was the switching of narration between Marina and Josh. I can’t seem to choose which one I like better. Both of them were interesting and fun to read. Both of them seemed to have developed throughout the novel. Josh goes through a lot more and it seems there’s lots to be expected from him. Then there’s Desmond, who’s the comic relief of the novel, but I also enjoyed reading about him as well. He seems to be the ‘outsider’ of the group but I’m hoping that’s not the case (if you know what I mean) ;)

When Elzie came into the picture, at first I didn’t seem to like her. She’s very abrasive and hard to like - but that’s just the way her personality is. As you progress further into the book, you start to like her and her strong independent personality is suddenly likable.

The plot of this book was pretty good, a nice mixture of school life, action, comedy, and even a bit of romance in some parts. It’s all interesting. There’s a bit of background information on the Wildlings, but you’re still left with questions unanswered and how Josh fits into the big picture. The big climax towards the end was pretty good, although I found the ending a little lackluster and not packing a punch like I expected it to. There’s no cliffhanger ending (perhaps that’s a good thing for some?) and perhaps because I’m so used to it, it caught me off guard.

I’ll be picking up the second one when it’s out, I’m curious as to how Josh is going to fit into the big plans. Come to think of it, there’s quite a bit to look forward to in the next book! I most definitely recommend this for YA readers. ( )