Under my skin by James Dawson

Meet Molly Sue. Once she's under your skin there's no getting rid of her...

Seventeen-year-old Sally Feather is not exactly a rebel. Her super-conservative parents and her treatment at the hands of high school bullies means that Sally's about as shy and retiring as they come - but all that's about to change. Accidentally ending up in the seedier side of town one day, Sally finds herself mysteriously lured to an almost-hidden tattoo parlour - and once inside, Sally is quickly seduced by its charming owner, Rosita, and her talk of how having a secret tattoo can be as empowering as it is thrilling. Almost before she knows what she is doing, Sally selects sexy pin-up Molly Sue, and has her tattooed on her back - hoping that Molly Sue will inspire her to be as confident and popular as she is in her dreams.

But things quickly take a nightmareish turn. Almost immediately, Sally begins to hear voices in her head - or rather, one voice in particular: Molly Sue's. And she has no interest in staying quiet and being a good girl - in fact, she's mighty delighted to have a body to take charge of again. Sally slowly realises that she is unable to control Molly Sue... and before long she's going to find out the hard way what it truly means to have somebody 'under your skin'.

My thoughts
I am always excited when a new book by James Dawson appears in my life. I love his characters. I love the messages he has to say in addition to the overall plot. They are always fast paced and exciting meaning I often find myself unable to put them down. Under my skin is no exception.

Quite frankly this book scared the crap out of me. It probably doesn't help that I am in crazed dizziness / fevered state because of a bug but I can definitely see me having very bizarre nightmares about it tattoos taking me over. The more I think about it the more creeped out I get. I think it is all to do with that idea of another entity taking over and taking control of your body without your permission that really gets to me especially when you see everyone around Sally thinking it is just her going nuts and trying to make excuses for her behaviour.

As usual from James the dialogue and characterisation is spot on. I wanted to root for Sally from the first page and also enjoyed meeting the whole cast of different character. Mary Sue herself frightens me beyond belief and is brilliantly done in her evil ways. I also loved that the themes addressed about feminism and not being a homophobic arsehole are brilliantly poignant.

Yet another James Dawson title that begs to be made into a teen horror film. I for one will read anything this man has written even if I think it means I'm not going to be able to sleep at night.