'A truly original debut from a seriously intelligent writer' - Maggie Nelson

New Skin is a piercing and brilliantly provocative debut that dissects the myths of beauty and assimilation in modern America.

When Linli returns to LA after three years’ away, she is aghast by what she finds. Her mother, Fanny, is unrecognisable, her once-familiar face warped by bargain procedures in the basements of LA's bootleg beauty parlours. 

As Linli struggles to pull her mother back from the brink, she uncovers a new horror. Fanny has secured a coveted place on America’s Beauty Extreme, a reality show where botched plastic surgery addicts compete for reconstructive surgery.

The deeper Linli is drawn into her mother’s quest to achieve the ‘right kind’ of beauty, the more she realises she isn’t just fighting to save Fanny—she’s fighting something far larger, something rotting at the heart of the American dream itself…

'Intense, original and hilarious' - Colm Tóibín

'Completely engaging, surprising and beautifully written' - Chris Kraus