Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim

Nina Khan is skunk girl. Not because she stinks, but because she has a stripe of soft hair that runs along her spine. Nina and her family are from Pakistan and she has genes that make her hairy. She and her sister Sonia were born in the United States and have never been to Pakistan, but her parents grew up there and were all about the traditions. These traditions include never dating, arranged marriages, and not being allowed to party. Nina is having a tough time with these rules, not that a boy has ever asked her out, but she'd like to have parties and some fun like any teenager would. On top of all of that, her parents aren't as impressed with her as they are her sister Sonia, the "supernerd", because she knows she can't live up to those expectations.
Then, the new school year starts. Her friends Bridget and Helena are easy to find boyfriends and they try hard not to make Nina feel bad. Deer Hook High, being the small town that it is, no one new ever moves in, but that all changes when the boy of her dreams comes from Italy. He's Asher, he's handsome, and all the girls want him, including Nina. Asher soon dates Nina's archrival Serena, but Nina can't help but think that Asher doesn't truly like Serena, that he really likes her. But how would that work, her parents wouldn't approve of a boy non-Pakistani, and she would feel guilty going behind their backs.

This book was good, but a little cliche. Its plot was basic and a lot of other books I've read have the same kind of thing. Girl meets boy, girl wants boy, girl can't have boy, and so on. When you get to the middle of the book, you can pretty much guess what happens for the rest of it. Although, it did have a turn around from other books with this plot. The fact that Nina was Pakistani, it had a lot of their traditions, language, and food. I thought it helped me understand the culture a little bit because I didn't know anything about Pakistan.

Some drinking, mentions of sex, but no details.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Norristown, Pennsylvania USA