Book Review: Under My Skin by James Dawson

Title: Under My Skin
Author: James Dawson
Published: 5th March 2015
Publisher: Hotkey Books

Review

I have heard so many fantastic things about James Dawson's books, so when I got the opportunity to read his latest book, Under My Skin, I could not wait to start. I must also note once again how brilliant the Hot Key Books covers are, and this one came with pink sprayed edges! 
I am really into reading thrillers at the moment and have not read enough YA ones, so Under My Skin sounded like just the fix I needed and it was definitely thrilling!
Sally Feather is your ultimate good girl. She gets straight A's, and never gets into trouble probably something to do with her upbringing from her conservative parents and is very shy, which again isn't helped by the school bullies. Things however are about to take a very rebellious turn for Sally when she ends up on the wrong side of town and to try and escape a drunken homeless man, she takes cover in what turns out to be a tattoo parlour. She is taken in by the charms of Rosita and becomes convinced that she needs a tattoo and not just any tattoo, a tattoo of the beautiful and seductive Molly Sue. All of Sally's rational thinking goes out the window and all too soon she has Molly Sue tattooed on her back. Whilst Sally's confidence is initially boosted, things quickly turn sour as she starts to hear voices in her head and finds that her body is not completely her own anymore.
I actually found Sally quite a relatable character with her shyness, but wanting to be more confident and be noticed. She isn't your strong female protagonist,she is still someone you will instantly like and root for. Molly Sue on the other hand is your ultimate badass, she won't let anyone stand in her way and will do anything to get what she wants. Although she is a likeable character as first and you think she is going to help Sally become more confident, things very soon turn sinister and I constantly felt uneasy reading the story as I just did not know what Molly Sue would do next.
I have very quickly come to the conclusion that James is a storytelling genius. He has managed to come up with something that is very unique and stands out from other current thrillers out there. The story is very creepy and intensely gripping, I did not have any idea where it was going to go, even up to the ending. This is more than just a thriller though, James deals with real life issues and topics that teens have to deal with today, such as bullying, friendships, confidence and fitting in, which is partly why Sally was so relatable.
A brilliantly chilling, creepy and gripping read from James Dawson.