The Bodies We Wear, by Jeyn Roberts

The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Bodies We Wear is a dark reflection on the factors that shape us into the people we are, the capacity for hope and change, the horrors and collateral damage of addiction, inequality in society, and what justice looks like in an unjust world. All of this comes through a few weeks in the life of an exceptional and exceptionally damaged teenage girl in an alternative universe where a drug known as Heem shows users catch a brief glimpse of heaven or hell after their bodies “die” temporarily. Heem users—apparent to everyone because of physiological changes and scarring—are ostracized by society; no “respectable” person will be associated with them. Forced to use Heem as a child as a warning to her mother by dealers who had murdered her father (her mother abandoned her shortly thereafter), Faye is at the precipice of change when we meet her. Just as she deems herself ready physically as a warrior to extract her revenge, others enter her life and make her rethink the path that has been her sole focus for years. How Faye approaches the change in her life provides the backbone of the story. In a bleak, science-fiction setting (the story begins at night in the rain so the whole book has the feeling of black about it), Faye nonetheless must face the same issues as teenagers everywhere: bullying, overbearing parental figures, bad teachers, and the messed-up, confusing world of romance. Roberts mixes the familiar with the fictional and demonstrates that, while not all endings are happy ones per se, often a glimmer of hope exists that can transform our own worlds.

In interest of disclosure, I received a free prepublication e-copy from the publisher for reviewing purposes.



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