Review of And Throw Away The Skins

[Armando Diaz]

[Following is a volunteer review of "And Throw Away The Skins" by Scott Archer Jones.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

In, And Throw Away The Skins, by Scott Archer Jones, Bec (short for Rebecca) undergoes a breast cancer surgery that ultimately claws her lack of self-confidence and determines her guided perception of love. Combine this with a distant marriage that lacks chemistry and a husband in the military who is unable to love her post-surgery body; creating a Bec that is torn between two worlds: intimacy and love. For Bec, intimacy requires love, but she believes that love itself cannot make you intimate.

This book aims to tell the story of hardship in the military through the lens of Bec. It is a medium-sized read ~300 pages, and has frequent mentions of sexual content throughout the book. It does have a small amount of language and therefore I would recommend this book to an older teen and up.

Overall, I rate this title a 3 out of 4. The author did a nice job story-telling and building the landscape that was Beth's environment. My family is not in the military, but this book definitely sends a message to the public that are unaware of some of the ugly sides of war and how veterans can appear seemingly normal in the outside, but are really fighting demons in the inside. In contrast, I think the author really brought to life the results or aftermath of breast cancer and surgery. It was evident while reading this book that breast cancer takes a toll on women's self confidence as well as their happiness.

The flashbacks throughout the book helped build on some of Bec's character but it also failed to build other characters. I would have enjoyed more character building in this book since I was left caring only for what happened to Bec, and therefore, rate it a 3.

I think that military veterans or spouses would enjoy reading this book the most. I enjoyed it as well and learned about the hardships that exist within the military, and thus, also recommend it to mature audiences.

******
And Throw Away The Skins
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords