When Kia Matthews' mother dies and her father moves them all the way across the country, from Seattle to the small new England island of Buccaneer Bay, she doesn't know what to expect. Nothing could have prepared her for what she finds, a new tattoo, a two hundred year old journal, horror she could have never dreamed of and a reminder that true love never ends.
When Kia Matthews' mother dies and her father moves them all the way across the country, from Seattle to the small new England island of Buccaneer Bay, she doesn't know what to expect. Nothing could have prepared her for what she finds, a new tattoo, a two hundred year old journal, horror she could have never dreamed of and a reminder that true love never ends.
Moving to an island on the harbor of Boston wasn’t what Kia Matthews imagined happening during her senior year of high school. But since her mom had died and her dad had gotten laid off, he was fully depending on the job his own mother, Kia’s grandmother, had gotten him taking care of a lighthouse. That part seemed mildly interesting to Kia, but everything she knew was on the west coast in Oregan. She walked into her new high school with her notebook hugged tight to her chest. This was her first day but not the first day for everyone else. She walked slowly down the hall as people bumped into her rudely, as if she weren’t even there. She blinked and tried to stay upright as she made her way to her first class. It had always been this way with her, even when she wasn’t the new girl. People always treated her like she was invisible, bumping her out of the way, interrupting her, talking over her. She was used to it, but she thought maybe being new here would give her a fresh start, that maybe people would be intrigued by the mystery of her newness. She seemed to be off to a bad start already because she still felt completely invisible. Sometimes she felt like she wanted to do something wild, something to make her stand out, to be seen or heard. At other times she was glad to be invisible, when she saw how bullies at school treated the people they zeroed in on. She wasn’t picked on, or bullied, she just was, like a lamp in the corner that no one noticed. It could be a lot worse.
She finally made it to her first class of the day, which was math class, her worst subject. She found a seat in the back corner and tried not to be noticed. Then she looked up and around the class, a girl sat in front of her, but no one was in the seat beside her. One row over and one seat up sat a guy with long wavy black hair. He wore a black tee shirt and dark jeans with black converse sneakers. She slowly gazed at his slender form and was for some reason intrigued. She could barely see his profile as he chewed on a pencil and leaned forward with his arm resting on his desk. He seemed tense, and his habits made her think he was probably a smoker, finding ways to replace his oral fixation with ticks and writing utensils. He had tattoos spread sparingly down both his arms and small ones on his fingers. He was troubled, and she felt drawn to him already. As she stared, she failed to realize he had turned and caught her. She caught his eye and blinked, looking away quickly. She looked back at him casually, and he was still staring at her. She looked down at her desk and bit back a smile. On her second glance she had seen his large bright brown eyes and pouty lips. He was even cuter than she had suspected. She could still feel his eyes on her, so she looked up again. He bit his bottom lip and grinned. She started to smile back but then she heard her name being called.
“Kia Matthews,” a voice said.
“Umm here, present,” she said loudly. The class laughed.
“Yeah we haven’t gotten there yet, I was asking you to come up and introduce yourself to the class,” the small black-haired teacher said.
Kia winced at the embarrassment and made her way to the front of the class, completely avoiding eye contact with everyone, especially the cute boy in the back. She cleared her throat nervously.
“Well, I-I’m Kia,” she started, “umm I just moved here from Oregan, my dad and I, my mom… my mom died,” she paused, someone coughed, disinterested, “I guess… well I guess that’s all,” she finished and walked back to her seat. Her face was hot, and she knew her skin was red as she slid back into place and put her head in her hands. She sat like that for a while until she felt something hit her hand. She looked down and saw a small piece of paper crumpled up. She looked up and saw the brown-eyed boy staring again. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he had thrown it at her. Was he being mean? It didn’t seem like it, she gave him a confused look. He held up his hands, mimed unraveling it, and she grinned. He started to smile back and took a piece of his hair in his fingers and covered his lips with it bashfully.
She unraveled the tiny piece of paper slowly and looked at the word written on it; all it said was ‘hi’ in lowercase letters. For some reason it seemed like the sweetest note she’d ever gotten. She giggled lightly at the adorable simplicity of it. She looked up at him, and he was chewing the pencil again, but he gazed back at her and grinned. She didn’t know what to make of it, she had never attracted any attention. Certainly not positive attention and certainly not from a cute boy. She covered her body in long skirts and giant cardigan sweaters to hide herself away. She kept her red hair pulled back into a ponytail or braid all the time. Yet this boy, whoever he was, had seen her, had noticed her somehow. She couldn’t help but stare at him a little throughout the rest of class. Though she looked away each time he looked back at her.
Once that class was over, she rushed out to the next one, embarrassed over her interaction with the boy. At lunch she hid in the bathroom, not eating because it would be gross eating there. Some girls came in to smoke cigarettes and gossip. Kia was hiding in a stall and pulled her feet up onto the seat so they wouldn’t find her. The girls were giggling and making fun of several girls who weren’t present. At least Kia wasn’t subject of their mocking. But at the same time wished she were, the hint of jealousy she heard in their voices gave away the real motive for their bitterness. Kia hadn’t even sparked enough interest to be mocked.
After lunch and science, she had drama class, the only one she was looking forward to. She went into the theater, which was where class was held. It was very nice for just a high school drama class. She supposed the school held plays sometimes. People were dotted among the seats in the auditorium facing the stage. On the stage there were various props, a podium, and a single standing light. One to leave burning when no one was around to please the ghosts, which was an old theater tradition.
“Psst…” she heard as she made her way down the middle aisle. She spun around in surprise to see the boy from her math class leaning far back in a seat near the back of the theater.
“Oh,” she said.
“Hi,” he said, grinning.
“Hi,” she said, blushing.
“Have a seat,” he motioned to the one beside him, his arms spread out on the back of the seats flanking him, casually. If she sat in one of them he’d have his arm around her. She sat on the edge of a seat two seats down from him, her knees tight together, gripping her bag in her lap protectively.
“New here?” he asked. She nodded, he smiled, “Uh huh?”
“Yes,” she said, having to force the words through her lips. She was so tense she was nearly shivering.
“You seem a little shy for drama class, did they pick this elective for you?” he asked.
“N-no, I-I umm I love the theater,” she said.
“Acting?” he asked.
She shook her head and blushed, “No, watching mostly.”
“You ever see any shows?” he asked.
“Uh huh, tons, my mom used to take me to a theater back in my hometown, she was an actress… well an amateur actress,” she said.
“Did she ever try it professionally?” he asked.
“I guess so, but then she got pregnant, so I guess I kind of ruined that,” she said.
He frowned at her, “I’m sure you didn’t ruin anything.” The conversation was getting dark and deep way too fast. Kia said nothing in hopes he would lighten the subject. He sat up and leaned toward her with his elbows on his knees.
“What?” she snapped, scared because he’d gotten closer.
“I was just about to set you up here,” he said, then he pointed to a group of kids who were huddled near the stage talking, “See that guy in the green beanie?”
“Yeah,” Kia said.
“That’s Talon, he’s the tech, he is a genius on all that shit, but he KNOWS it, so we need him but it’s annoying that we need him,” he said.
Kia giggled, “Okay.”
He slid over to the seat beside her and pointed at the group again, “That girl, her name is Regina, and she’s a drama queen, and I mean that literally, she’s a hell of an actress but again…”
“She knows it?” Kia smiled at him; he smiled back and nodded. Suddenly another person in the huddle up front made a strange sound.
“Oh yeah, that’s Justin, he’s a farm boy,” he said.
“Oh, yeah and what’s he doing?” she asked.
“Crowing like a rooster, he does that,” he said with a scoff.
She giggled, “Awesome.”
“Yeah, he talks about chickens like all the time, it’s ridiculous,” he said.
“So that’s a lot of names,” she said and side-eyed him.
He grinned and held out his hand to shake hers, “I’m Alistair, but people call me Ali,” he said.
“Ali, I like it,” she said.
“Yeah it’s a family name,” he said. “My family has moved back and forth between here and Tunisia for centuries.”
“Have you ever been?” she asked.
“No,” he scoffed, “I’ve always wanted to and to connect with my family back there, but my parents won’t go, they want to fit in here. They say it’s hard enough being Brown in a small town.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Oh, don’t worry about it, I’m used to it, plus I got back at them with all these tattoos and the way I dress,” he said with a laugh.
She laughed, “But how did you get tattoos if they don’t approve? Didn’t they have to sign something?”
“They would if I went to a shop or something, but I did all these myself,” he said.
She looked at the well-drawn markings on his arms and fingers, “Wow, good job.” He smiled, and then someone on stage started clapping to get everyone’s attention. They both looked up at the stage where a man with long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail was clapping and standing behind a microphone.
“Attention class, we have a new student joining us today, where is Kia Matthews?” he asked reading the name off a slip of paper.
“Oh no,” Kia muttered.
“Kia?” the instructor shielded his eyes to scan the seats.
She sighed and stood up, “That’s me.”
“Come up here please,” the instructor said, waving her toward him. She glanced down at Ali, and he winked at her and nodded. This comforted her and sent a chill through her all at once. She made her way slowly down the center aisle feeling eyes on her. Justin crowed at her like a rooster, and she froze for a second. Was he mocking her? Several other students giggled.
“Justin!” the instructor scolded. Kia had no other choice but to keep moving, so she walked awkwardly up to the stage. She looked up at the instructor, who, from her position on the floor and him on the stage, looked ten feet tall.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Up here Miss Matthews,” he put his hands on his hips. She winced; it was bad enough being in front of everyone let alone up on a stage in the literal spotlights. The instructor pointed to the side of the stage where there were stairs. She went over and climbed up, looking at her own feet as she walked. He backed away from the microphone indicating he wanted her to speak into it. It was getting worse by the second. Justin gave his rooster crow again and people laughed. Kia stood there looking at her cloth shoes mostly covered by her long multicolored skirt. She felt like she might vomit if she opened her mouth to speak.
“Hi,” she whispered.
The instructor sighed loudly, “PROJECT! Miss Matthews!”
She finally lifted her head to look over at the instructor, she pleaded with her eyes for him to have mercy on her, but he cold-glared back at her with his hands fisted on his hips. She swallowed hard and looked out at the seats. Most of the students were gathered into groups of three or four near the stage. Only Ali was in the back, but he was standing now and moving toward the aisle. He got to the aisle and headed down the slope of it, toward the stage. He was looking at her and she could see his eyes, even from here they looked warm. He gave her a slight encouraging nod and smiled at her. Instinctually, she smiled back and felt herself blush.
“Hi.” she started and then cleared her throat nervously, “I’m Kia… Kia Matthews and we… that is, my father and I just moved here from Oregan.”
“All the way from the west coast, were you close to California?” the instructor asked.
“Well, no, but my mom, before she died, she was an actress, not a famous one, just in local plays,” Kia said, not knowing where the words were coming from.
“Was she good?” the instructor asked. Kia felt like the question should sound rude, but it didn’t.
“Yes, oh yes very good,” she nodded enthusiastically.
“Well maybe it’s in your genes, if you can get over your shyness,” the instructor said.
“Oh no,” Kia said, letting out a nervous breathy laugh, “I’m not an actress, I –”
“Have you ever tried it?” the instructor asked, interrupting her protest. She looked back at the audience, Ali was now in the second row, leaning on his arms that were crossed on the back of the seat in front of him. He was watching her with a smirk.
“Well… I umm no not really,” she stammered.
“Okay Miss Matthews have a seat, we will loosen you up later,” the instructor said. She let out a sigh of relief and rushed off the stage. Justin crowed like a rooster at her again, she ignored him. She went up the aisle and found a seat behind everyone. Ali looked back at her, and then back up at the instructor, who was clapping for people’s attention.
“We are going to be putting on a production,” the instructor started. Several students started murmuring so he clapped again, “Please… quiet when someone is behind the microphone, remember?”
The students quieted down and he continued, “Okay I’m sure most of you know about the legend of the pirate witch.” Kia didn’t know what he was talking about, but most of the other students nodded. “I have written an original screenplay about her and I’m going to have you all perform it for the town founders day this year.”
He went on explaining his plans and talking about holding auditions and those types of things. Kia wasn’t paying too much attention because she was thinking about the legend of the pirate witch. What could that be? She knew they were near Salem and that the witch trails had gone on in more places than just Salem. But most people these days were aware that those women were the victims of cruel, unjust misogyny and overly puritanical tyrants. This didn’t sit right with her at all, even though most of the other students seemed utterly over the moon about doing a play about some ‘evil witch’.
She looked at Ali, who was looking bothered as well. He looked over at her and rolled his eyes at what the instructor was saying about how the pirate witch was scary. Kia smiled at him and nodded that she agreed with him. She would have to find out from him after class what the legend was, and if people in this town were really that stuck in the past.
After the instructor got done explaining the play and passing out scripts for everyone to ‘get acquainted with’, he had the whole class do ridiculous exercises. Vocal ones, moving, loosening up, some improv scenes. Kia mostly tried to hide behind the seat in front of her and stay out of it all. Ali watched her curiously as he also was participating in the activities. She was a little surprised that he was into it, but he didn’t seem embarrassed at all. He noticed her, but he didn’t call her out or put anyone else’s focus on her, thankfully. But after class he did walk over to her as she was gathering her things to leave.
“You didn’t like the class?” he asked.
“Well, I am just not much for… you know, participating in embarrassing myself in front of strangers,” she said as they started out of the theater together, walking side by side.
“It’s not really embarrassing if everyone else is doing the same thing is it?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
“It is for me,” she said softly.
“Well, we’ll get you out of that eventually,” he winked at her, she blushed and stared at her shoes as she walked.
“So, I guess I have to go home,” she said, part of her wanting to get away from him because he was making her nervous walking so close.
“Okay, so where is home?” he asked.
“The lighthouse,” she said.
“On the island?” he smiled widely.
“Well… yeah,” she said apprehensively. The town of Buccaneer bay was in two parts. One was the actual bay on the mainland, and the other part was an island three miles offshore. The mainland bay was for bigger things like a mall, the high school, a hospital and things like that. Even that part of town was cut off from most of the world by forest. But the island had a smaller school building for little kids, a small doctor’s office, post office, general store, sheriff's office, and typical small-town things. And the island was also where most of the residents actually lived.
“Me too,” Ali said, “you taking the first ferry?”
“I mean isn’t that the only way?” she asked.
He shrugged, “Some of the kids with more money and friends stay on the mainland to hang at the mall.”
“Well, it’s my first day so I…” she started, then stopped, it was unlikely that she’d make many friends no matter how long she lived there. And even more unlikely that if she did they would be the rich kind that liked to hang out at the mall. “No, I think I should go straight home, since I’m new. So, I guess I’ll see you later.”
He let out a soft chuckle and she thought she saw a hint of a blush, “No I…” he bit his lip, “I’m not one of the mallrats, I go on the first ferry too.”
“Oh,” she said, a little surprised.
“Yeah,” he said slowly, “Brown kid in a small new England town, I’m not exactly a pariah, but I’m also not anyone’s first choice to hang with.”
“I’m sorry,” she said sincerely.
“I mean, people aren’t outright mean about it, I just think I make them uncomfortable because I look different, it’s unspoken but I feel it,” he said, shrugging like he was used to it. He shouldn’t be used to it, but he seemed to act like it didn’t bother him.
“I’m still sorry,” she said. He just smiled at her and kept walking beside her. The part of her that was nervous was starting to fade into the part of her that was glad he was sticking with her. She knew he was probably just being nice to the new kid because he was an outsider too. But she really, really hoped there was a little more to it than just that. Maybe once they got to the island he could show her around a little bit. That was a new part of her. Usually, she would want to be left alone to wallow in her room over the unjustness of their move across country and her mother’s death. Sad music, candles, writing emo poetry. But this new thing felt exciting, like there were pop rocks in her belly all of a sudden.
There wasn’t much to the small town on the mainland. It was mostly one main street where the high school and hospital were on each side of a dead end. On both sides of the street there were businesses all down the street for three miles, and at the other end was the mall. The road branched off right in front of the mall, and you could go west on the highway that went through the forest separating the town from the rest of the world. Going east takes you to the actual bay, the dock road. All along the ocean side of the east street buildings there were nothing but docks for boats, but the main dock had the ferry which went out to the island several times a day. After ten it was docked for the night, and no one was going out or back in overnight. The thought was a little scary to Kia, being stuck out there with no way to the mainland for hours. But she was told by her dad that in an emergency they had ways to get help out to the island.
Ali and Kia walked the three miles of main street slowly. He pointed out different businesses to her, making comments on who owned them. There were some apartments over most of the businesses, and mostly the town’s single people lived in those. All the families and elderly people lived on the island. There was a museum on the island as well. He told her about what it had been like living on the island. His own mom was the sheriff and the owner of the general store. Apparently the back room of the store also served as the island jail. It was like living in the Andy Griffith show, he said.
“What about your dad?” Kia asked.
“Fisherman,” he said, “ninety percent of Buck Bay are fishermen.”
“Buck bay?” she asked.
He shrugged, “Locals call it that.”
“And everyone seems a little obsessed with pirates and witches,” she said pointing to the decorations on most of the businesses.
He scoffed, “Trying to attract tourists.”
“It seems like an odd combination,” she said.
“Well, we do have a history of both, real pirates spent a lot of time in this area, a long time ago and you know, hanging from Nix’s Mate,” he said.
“What?!” she exclaimed.
He chuckled, “Oh yeah, there’s an island, much smaller right offshore of our island, you can see it from the lighthouse, it’s too small for anyone to do anything with, but back in the pirate days they would hang captured and executed pirates out there as a warning.”
“Wow that sounds… gruesome,” she said.
“Yeah well… they weren’t much nicer to the so-called witches either,” he said.
“They hung women?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“Holy cow,” she said shaking her head.
“Puritanical nonsense,” he scoffed.
“That’s what happened to the pirate witch?” she asked.
He nodded, “But she really was a witch, or so the legend goes, there’s a journal.”
“Who’s journal?” she asked.
“I’ll take you to the museum on the island and you can see for yourself,” he said.
Raine Fielder's Skin Deep has heart, atmosphere and a genuinely interesting premise. It blends grief, folklore and the uncanny into a quiet work of magic realism set on the isolated New England island of Buccaneer Bay. It is a dual‑timeline novel that threads together the lives of two young women—Kia, a high‑school senior navigating grief and displacement in the present, and a girl from the 1740s whose journal entries surface with an uncanny resonance. What emerges is a quiet work of magic realism about identity, vulnerability, and the subtle ways people reach for connection when language fails them. The two young women separated by centuries — a high school senior in the present day and a girl from the 1740s whose journal entries slowly surface. On paper, it’s a compelling setup: grief, identity, folklore, and the eerie parallels between past and present. And there are moments where that promise shines through.
I really enoyed the emotional beats between Kia and her father. Scenes like the quiet apology in the kitchen — mismatched plates, wood‑burning stove, a father trying to hold it together — are some of the strongest in the book and feel grounded and tender. More examples of the strongest impact for these can be found in the flirtation scenes between Kia and a classmate, which are charming in a YA‑romance way: awkward, breathless and full of that “did he really just say that?” energy. The most impactful point of tension lies in the historical journal entries, which add texture and atmosphere, hinting at generational echoes of isolation, belonging and transformation.
I enjoyed that both timelines explore what it means to be an outsider. Kia gravitates toward stories of witches and misfits not out of curiosity but recognition. The town’s obsession with pirates and witches becomes a metaphor for how communities mythologize difference while quietly policing it. The 1724 journal entry deepens this theme: the girl’s physical transformation contrasts with her emotional helplessness, and her mother’s sudden distance hints at assimilation, loss or something stranger. The historical voice doesn’t simply parallel the present—it haunts it.
Where the novel falters is in the protagonist’s voice. Although Kia is written as a high‑school senior, her inner monologue and reactions often read much younger, creating a mismatch between her age and the emotional weight of the situations she’s navigating. The narrative leans heavily on gestures, blushes, glances and scenic detail without offering enough interiority to fully anchor her motivations. As a result, some emotional shifts feel abrupt or underdeveloped, and the connective tissue between scenes can be thin. A bit more reflection and depth would have helped the magic realism elements land with greater clarity and resonance.
Even with these uneven spots, Skin Deep has heart, atmosphere, and a genuinely interesting premise. Readers who enjoy slow‑burn magic realism with emotional softness, a strong sense of place, and a touch of historical mystery may find it a comforting and evocative read. The dual‑timeline structure creates an intriguing sense of echo and inheritance, and the premise—two lives separated by centuries but linked through loss and transformation—has real emotional pull.