Skin by Donna Jo Napoli (review)

Sep is freaked out to awaken on the first day of eleventh grade to find that her lips have turned white. The doctor identifies the problem as vitiligo, and an unhappy Sep figures that even with the cover of lipstick the disease's spread will doom her as-yet-nonexistent dating life. When Joshua starts to flirt with her, she therefore accelerates the relationship much faster than she ordinarily would have as more white spots appear on her body. She insists on darkness when they make out, and they enjoy a month of clandestine sex before she decides it's time to break it off without telling him why. Sex and the yoga she learns from her dance teacher help her learn to love the way her body moves, and her conversations with a girl at the make-up counter give her an additional boost; the girl, young and edgy as she looks, turns out to be a mom with strong opinions about teen sex, tattoos, and the love of Jesus. Napoli weaves contemplation of mind, body, and spirit into Sep's growing acceptance of her new reality; Sep is smart enough to intellectually detach from what is happening, but she's also a teenage girl who makes a really selfish decision in using Joshua that he calls her out on. Sep's happy ending is an understanding that a benign skin condition isn't the end of her hopes for the future, and her story is as nuanced and refreshing as her hard-earned perspective.