The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher is a novel about shared histories and how everything we have in the present has roots in something ancient.

Betty, a queer Palestinian American, is torn between staying in the only country she's ever known and leaving to be with the woman she loves. She does not want to perpetuate the cycle of exile in her family but wants to follow her heart. Upon discovering her Aunt Nuha's journals that contained passages about her life and sexuality, Betty uncovers much more about her own history. The Skin and Its Girl follows Betty as she discovers a hidden history about the Rummani family lore.

This book is complicated in a great way. It deals with the idea of our shared histories and how every trauma leaves its imprints in us. A wonderful story about trying to find refuge and answers in the past told with amazing different stories and perspectives. With many different characters throughout many different times, at times it became a bit hectic to keep track of. However, this is an important story with beautiful prose and a deep history you can easily get lost in.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for this ARC.

Once I suspended reality and stopped worrying about timelines and keeping the many characters straight, I began to enjoy this usual novel. I still am not sure of many of the events of the novel as it skipped around in time, in narrators and in settings. The writing was lyric and lovely and that is what kept me reading. The Skin and it’s Girl was in truth a love story between many different characters.

This is beautifully written, full of astonishingly woven phrases and passages; the entire book is a revelation. It's an exploration of a family history, of myths, of relationships that have been hidden or partially obscured, and of how time and circumstances and mental illness shape and alter those pieces of our identities. The characters feel real and their stories are compelling--I wanted this book to go on and on. Highly recommended.

Fantastic fiction. Wonderful prose and story. I picked this up on a whim and really enjoyed this as the writing is stunning and the story is really beautiful

Huge thanks to NetGalley for this ARC, and what an honor to be the first reviewer on Goodreads!

I enjoyed this book quite a lot! I rolled in expecting a sweeping, cultural story, one I couldn't relate to but would enjoy anyways, and it ended up partially that and partially a struggling woman taking refuge in the past to guide her, which I ended up relating with a lot.
The prose is huge and beautiful, while describing the little stories that build us. It's so believable, raw and uncensored that I found myself checking the NG page to make sure it was fiction! Besides this, dear gods, the food descriptions always get me when I read about cultures not my own. They just sound ridiculously delicious, especially when prepared with loving, experienced hands.
I found some of the chapters a bit too long and rambling, but for the most part, it was just a delight to be swept up into the story. Thanks again to NetGalley for providing me with this opportunity!