Skins: Summer Holiday

Skins #2

by Jess Brittain

The second fabulous novel centred around the brand new cast of SKINS series 5--the BAFTA winning, cult E4 TV series. The brand new cast of Skins series 5 go back in time, to before the start of the series, where readers will find out what they all did that summer... An edgy, insightful, sexy and revealing back story for generation 3 of the best teen drama on tv.

Genres: Young Adult, Media Tie In, British Literature, Tv, Contemporary, Fiction, Teen

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2011

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I gave this book 3 stars is for Franky's story, the only redeeming thing in this poorly edited book. Grace's storyline (storylines?) were lame, while Rich's was non-existent. Nearly the whole thing is from Mini's perspective, and as she's the least likeable in the bunch, it was pretty awful, particularly her use of words slurs. As far as continuity, I think that if the show has a TV tie-in, the writers of said show should read the novel, especially in the case of Mini's father. Is he around sometimes? Did she ever meet him? Am I the only one who cares? And please, PLEASE, be consistent on how you spell a character's name (Maude/Maud). That's just ridiculous. I'm not the first to say it, but Ali Cronin did a better job on the first Skins novel. It had page-to-screen consistency (for the most part), better storylines, and character believability.

[Mark Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was MUCH better - the characters remain true to their screen counterparts - the writing has much more bite and satire to it - and this novelist is much more adept at dealing with social issues for young people. Some very dark - and possibly frightening issues are dealt with extremely well here - in a frank but never patronising manner - and in a style that fits perfectly with the series - also - in terms of what happens to the generation of Series 5 and 6, the events of the novel make perfect sense for future events - bravo - very well done indeed!

[Redfox5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been years since I properly watched Skins. At the time it first came out, I loved it. A few months ago, it arrived on Netflix , and I decided to re-watch it. I didn't even get through the first episode before I turned it off, and figured I was just too old.

Fast forward to now, where I was looking for something light to read, I settled on this Skins TV tie in. It's set between series 4 & 5. First thing I had to do was google what the characters looked like, as I had completely forgotten about all of them. But once I got going, I started to feel really nostalgic for the show.

While there are parts of this book that incredibly cringe to read, the line about 'plenty of sausage at the butchers' and 'fanny train' spring to mind, it is a really easy going book to get through. I enjoyed being back with the Skins cast so much that I've put on the show again and really loving it this time around.

I think you could still like this if you've never seen the show, as my memory had wiped it out of existence, but still managed to enjoy it.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 5th Series of Skins was outstanding. It was such a refreshing new group of individuals, and the storylines were just as unique. Honestly it had that warm, wholesome feel that Gen 1 did and was truly a cut above Gen 2.

I really enjoyed the first Skins novel, which explored the Summer between 3rd and 4th series with Gen 2. It was extremely well written and provided a meaty backbone for Series 4.

This Skins novel was lacking a little. While each of the characters were well written, I just felt that in the end there wasn't really any plot, or climax, for that matter.

Franky's parts were well written, raw and beautiful. I don't think the author really got into the head of Nick and Liv very well, and Grace was a little different to how she was in the show. Rich didn't get a lot at all, the focus was mostly on Mini, Liv and Grace. Alo's parts were brilliantly done.

I didn't warm to the minor characters such as Skylar, Zayne or Jack, and quite honestly I felt they were kind of irrelevant.

It wasn't as well written as the first Skins novel, which was written by a different author - Ali Cronin, and there were some very obvious grammar and spelling mistakes, but overall it wasn't a bad effort, just could have been a bit meatier and had some more plot, climax and resolution, and more of Rich and Alo of course.

[Sophie Nixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy the first Skins novel so I was intrigued to read this one. It acts as a backstory to the events of Generation 3. Certainly, some of the storylines are well-written and offer a fresh perspective on the characters who are mostly true to their onscreen counterparts. Frankie, Mini and Alo in particular were done justice but the rest didn’t quite get the content that I think they deserved. Grace’s plot didn’t really seem true to her, Liv didn’t get much of a story and Rich, possibly my favourite from the series, just acted as a bit of a side character. The overall book didn’t really have much of a plot but regardless, I found it easy to read and thought it offered some explanation that was definitely needed. A nice easy quick read.

[Can`t_Stop.Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than what I expected

[Lucy Brittain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this and he adventures that happened in this book. I especially liked the camping trip. it is set the summer before college and the adventure that takes place is as crazy as always x

[grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

i bought this to read before my flight. the flight is still delayed and i finished it. at least it confirms my mini likes girls rights.

[lucy.karmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for frankys backstory

[Michael McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read reviews for this book and they were generally negative, so I had low expectations before I started. But I was pleasantly surprised! It gave a good backstory to the characters in season 5, and how they knew/met each other before starting at Roundview. Franky's story was so sad and I like her even more now. I also liked how non-main characters were given chapters (Zayne, Rhodie, Dean), but I wish Matty, who actually is a main character, got more of a mention. It definitely wasn't as good as the first book, but fun to read nonetheless.

[Gebanuzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estoy listo!
maratón de Skins, y series 6 vengan a mí...
fue algo complicado con esto, una serie de palabras en inglés que son más elementos que se usan en los andares urbanos, y que simplemente no tenia idea de que iban. así que tenía que detenerme e indagar, ha sido muy interesante, quizá el factor del tiempo y el hecho de que lo he leido en tantos fragmentos que he quedado con algunas lagunas sobre lo ocurrido jajaja, además sinceramente la tercera generación no es para nada mi favorita.

[Darby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just couldn't seem to get into this one like I could with the first Skins novel. There was a completely lack of Rich, who is my favorite character, and it seemed as though the whole story was focused solely on Mini and Grace. I also didn't like how they added characters, like Zayne, and had sections from their perspectives. Could've definitely been better.

[Rachel Hogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because I had seen the series, also i randomly came across it in the library and figured it would pass the time.
The story is told before the gang start college, you get to see what their summer was like, and also you get to understand their outlook of things. You also see Franky before she came to Roundview, what a mess her life was and how cruelly she had been treated.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For what it is, it gets a four. Anyone who enjoys Skins would like this novel; it lets us know more about the characters before they start college, before the beginning of Series 5. I read it very quickly, it's enjoyable but wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped it would be.

[Blaise · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading the previous generations book I was really excited to read this next one however after watching the Tv show and not being thoroughly impressed I hoped the book would be better... It wasn't. It was boring and lacked the skins spirit.

[Lorna Webber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, read is as soon as series 5 finished and got it signed by Mini, Liv and the author at a book signing :-)

[Kym Samways · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was alright. But nothing close to the first book, which was awesome. The only ones I could read where frankie , liv and mini I found the rest too boring

[kaili. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly excellent. Characters were portrayed well.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was very well written in the characters personalities. It helped me get to know the characters better and understand what they were going through during series 5.

[PJ Giray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because I will always love Skins.

[Gen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A prequel to series 5 of the TV show. Worth a look if you like the show.

[Ellie Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this before beginning the 5th season, but it was incredibly difficult to get into. Preferred the first Skins books with Gen 2!!

[leah herberts💌 · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved this book so much!! -1⭐️ because its about the 3rd gen which is not my fave but it was just a cute easy read and i love reading books from shows i love.