The Skin I'm in

The Skin I'm In #1

by Sharon G. Flake, Jason Reynolds (Foreword)

Miss Saunders, who's skin is blotched with a rare skin condition, serves as a mirror to Maleeka Madison's struggle against the burden of low self-esteem that many black girls face when they're darker skinned. Miss Saunder's is tough and through this, Maleeka learns to stand up to tough-talking Charlese.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, African American, Coming Of Age, Contemporary

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 16, 1998

About the author

Sharon G. Flake is the author of five books, The Skin I'm In (1998), Money Hungry (2002), Begging for Change (2003), Who Am I Without Him? Short Stories About Boys and the Girls in Their Lives (2004), Bang! (Sept. 2005), and her latest novel The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street (2007).

Her work is used in public and private schools around the nation, from elementary to high school, and is often required reading in colleges for students in education, child development, children's literature and English writing programs. Beyond that, her work is also a favorite among adults and adult book club readers.

Flake and her work have won numerous awards and recognitions including: Best Books for Young Adult Readers; Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers; the New York Public Library Top Ten Books for the Teen Age; 2005 featured author in the Ninth Book of Junior Authors & Illustrators; 2005 Capitol Choices; Noteworthy Books for Children; 2004 Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Book; 2004 Texas Lone Star Award for Top Ten Books; 2002, 2004 Coretta Scott King Honor Award; Pennsylvania Council of the Arts Grant; 2004 Bank Street Best of the Year; 2004 Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book; 2004 CCBC Choices; Booklist Top Ten Fantasy Book; 2004 Booklist Top Ten Romance Novels for Youth; 2004 Booklist Editor's Choice Award; 2003 Detroit Free LIbrary Author of the Year; 1999 YWCA Racial Justice Award; 1999 Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Award and more.

Flake's work appears on the Anti-Defamation League's website which stresses the use of children's literature to help educators address the problem of bullying in schools.

Flake was born in Philadelphia, PA, but has resided in Pittsburgh, PA with her daughter for many years. She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in English. For several years she was a youth counselor for a foster care agency, after which she spent 18 years working at the University of Pittsburgh in public relations. She has written numerous articles for national publications. Prior to having her first book published, she wrote for approximately 15 years.

Reviews

[4RodSheÉa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Maleeka who is very dark skin and thinks that she is not beautiful because of the color of her skin. But when her father died she stop believing that she was beautiful and kids started picking on her. In the seventh grade a girl named Char who is the most popular girl in the grade told Maleeka that if she did her homework Char would stick up for her, let her hang with her, and give better looking clothes because Maleeka's mom made her clothes. And there is this one boy that likes her his name is caleb, and girls loved him. Including Maleeka but she thought that she wasn't good enough for him and that's where she is wrong.

Maleeks faces going to school feeling like an outcast because voice's just laugh and talk about her behind her back and in front of her face. On day a teacher comes in and she too gets picked on because she has this big black mark on her face which is a birth mark. So she starts to get more envolved with Maleeka because she can feel her pain. One day Char gets into trouble and drags Maleeka so now Maleeka has to work in he office.

While working in the office Caleb starts liking her and wants to be her friend but he cant even do that because everybody talks about them and so he stops talking to her and try's too avoid even looking her way so people dont think that they are envolved with eachother. Later on Char makes Maleeka set Miss Saunders class on fire and bailing on her leaving little Maleeka to take the blame. Maleeka have a journals and where it is her own fantasy where it is inspried by her life. Where she is an ugly princess. Who have been locked away in cave looking and smellig like se haven't taken a shower inwho knows what, and teeth and breath stanking, and is basiclly bald headed not literally. And the prince who too is stuck with her and he likes her for who she is no matter what she may look like. Miss Saunders likes her journal writings and tells her to do more of it and dont be afraid to go out there.

Oe day Charlease comes over to Maleeka house and tell's her to come with her over a friends house. Maleeka not feeling so sure but she goes anywhere because she wants to seem cool. So goes to this neigborhood thats worse than hers. Char doesn't even pay attention to her and winds up abandoning her and now Maleeka isn't sure that where she is going is the right way she is going. It's so dark and there are three white boy's walking around taunting her and they almost raped her but she got away. Wanting (going) to tell her mom but when she gets there she cant even spaek because of the way she feels.

To all come down to the end Maleeka is getting fed up with Char. Char tells her to do something and Maleeka leaves her hangig justlike she does her, pay back. Caleb has an epiphany of his own. And doesn't care what people say about him and Maleeka hanging around eachother because he enjoys being aound her. So Char's misdeeds catches up with her and she gets kicked out. And having 2 new friends Saunders and Caleb, possibly her new boyfriend. Things are looking pretty good for Maleeks's new beginng.

[Bobbieshiann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read but such a common story of young children coming of age. The main character Maleeka is a “dark-skinned” black girl who encounters bullying, grief, low self-esteem, self-love, standing up for herself, and so much more. It is powerful in the fact that it does not sugarcoat what is realistic.
A young black girl finding her voice is one of the most beautiful things in this world.
“I’m black, real black, and if you don’t like me, too bad ‘cause black is the skin i’m in!”

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this 20 years later was such a beautiful experience. It transported me back to where I was when I first read it. Back to when I first bought it at the book fair. If you have children that are in middle school I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK. Such a beautiful story and teaches some very valuable lessons

[Ana Novković · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so brilliant and I LOVE how honest and raw it is. So so so great. So so powerful. I love Maleeka's character so so much and the ending brought me to tears. If I have kids one day, this'll definitely be one of the books I read them and make them read it. I'm so glad I've read this and I can't wait to read more books by this author.

Please read this if you haven't.

_______________
Please check out the following, I swear it's less than 5 minutes!

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co
https://twitter.com/rnbworange/status...

[Michelle/Cnca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Number of Pages: 171
Level of Book:Y
Day I Started Reading It:9-28
Day I Finished The Book:9-28
Main Characters: Maleeka,Charlese,Ms.Saunders,Caleb,and Makeeka's Mom
This book is about a girl named Maleeka who hates the skin shes in(the title makes it obvoius). People are always making fun of her. They also make fun of her homemade clothes. Her mom started making her clothes since her father died. This new teacher comes along with a big scar in her face. Maleeka thinks that the new teacher is going to ruin her life.....but she might think again.Ms.Saunders,the new teacher, is always getting in Maleekas business, and Maleeka is not liking it at all! Maleeka started hanging out with the wrong crowd(Charlese and the twins) she only hangs out with them becuase Charlese lets her borrow really nice clothes. And she also has to do Charlese's h.w.
This boy named Caleb loves Maleeka, Maleeka sort of likes him too but she cant tell noone.....becuase of what Caleb did to her. He humiliated her in front of the whole class in the bus when they were in a feild trip to Washington(something like that). Charlese is making lots of bad choices and Maleekas following them. Dont think of Maleeka as a baad girl who plays her own rules....she doesnt. She has very good grades but Charlese is always making her do bad choices. Maleeka only supports her becuase of the good clothes Charlese brings her. Maleeka finally decides to stop listening to Charlese. Ms.Saunders is proud of Maleeka becuase she noticed it.At the end Maleeka still likes Caleb and chooses her friends wisely.(something like that)
The theme of the book is to love yourself no matter how you look, how you dress,if youre rich or poor,etc. This book is very interesting and teaches you something at the end. I recommend it to anybody that feels insecure about themselves. This book helped me becuase I felt kind of insecure about myself. I still do kind of.
Setting Of The Book: School, Maleekas house,and Peoples houses.

[3Shani H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

as brewd and amoral human beings we are bound to make mistakes and be judged by our natural flaws and more less our intuitions, we may change for the better and or the worse, nevertheless some cases may be prominent distincts of our own natural apperance or habits. constintly trying to fit in, you must unconquerably love yourself for you no matter how you walk talk or look.

meet Maleeka a seventh grader at williamson Jr. high, Maleeka came from an destitute family and religious backround. she came up without a father so it was only her and her mother. Maleeka had a lack of demeanor compared to the average teenager, her mother sowed all her clothes and she only owned one pair of socks , thats only the subordiante and artificial problem what really botherd her was the lack of respect she recieved while walking down the depth and shallow halls of her school, all because of her complexion. Maleeka's skin was dark and smooth like and baby's bottom, she was tall and skinny as a toothpick with pretty big brown eyes that was round like the moon. no one seemed to notice the good things she had going for her like her smarts or her pretty hair and flawless smile her skin got the worse of her most of all for her conspicious attitude. she only wanted to be like the rest of the girls.


the torture that came her way was ridiculos people would poor water in front of her locker so she would trip and fall. the would force her to do their homework and if it wasnt completed it was major prices to pay. she earned tons of nicknames like blackberries, poop face and charcol Maleeka that she described as deep cut scars that can mark her physically and mentally. maleeka was religious like her mother she was sanctified in Christianity she would run in the stalls of the girls bathroom and just pray and cry. the pain she felt was intense and chronic to her ears and heart Maleeka stayed to her self she had no choice , she also had a crush on the basketball teams number one leader Caleb. but caleb would follow the crowd and betray her also.

Charlese Boons a.k.a Char walked and owned the halls of Willamson J.high even the teachers was threatend by her. Char was short and thicker than a snicker she never missed a meal and you could tell. she was a gorgeous smile and wore braids that her back , Char stayed up with the latest trends in fashion everyone was scared of her even her crew. besides apperance Char wasn't doing so good she gotten left back two times she was 15 years old. one day she approached Maleeka and wanted her to start hanging with her but little did Maleeka know it was only for her to do Char's make up work so she could get promoted to her right grade in return Char would bring Maleeka The newest outfits and lunch.Maleeka and Char have gotten close by now and she told Char about her crush on Caleb and Char went behind maleeka's back and went out with caleb. It ,broke Maleeka's heart when she found out and in the end Maleeka stop being with Char it wasn't worth the headache she returned all her clothes and accessories.

Being judged by something artificial is one thing but being judged by something that comes naturally is another, always be yourself and love yourself no matter the flaws that stand in they way. I LOVE THE SKIN IM IN

[Makeda8f · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learn so much about this book. What I have learn about this book is that you can't judge people by the book of it's cover.I ready this book when I was in the 3rd grade. I, Like Maleeka, am a dark-skinned Barbadian. When I was younger, I was often teased about the complexion of my skin. I always wished I were a little brighter. After reading this book, I learned to love myself, and accept me for who I am. I also came to the conclusion that my family, and my real friends would love me no matter what. Maleeka went through many struggles, but she overcame them. This book is awsome for anyone around middle-school age, because that's when peer pressure kicks in.

[Eloiza · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far in this book everybody at school is making fun of Maleeka because of her nappy hair and her raggy old clothes. John-John is being racist to her and singing a song about her "Maleea Maleeka we sure wanna keep her but she is so black we can't see her".
Maleeka thinks the new teacher Miss Sunders will make things worse, all the teachers don't like her because she's too pushy.
When Maleeka was coming home one night two guys tried to kipnaped her but she scratched one of the guys eyes and bit the others dirty hand and they left her. She ran home as fast she can then cried all night.This makes me think she has a diffucult life.

[☾]

read this in elementary school- don’t remember anything about it except that i adored it

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What i learned from this book is that a girl that names Maleeka Madison goes to McClenton middle school where she's treated like garbage and she suffers every day because the kids in her class bother her a lot but here are two people that seems that they don't really like her or that dislike her more than the others because they tease her specially Charlese that tries to but her with clothe and so she can keep up and doing Charlese homework because she already repeated the 7th grade a several times and her parents died so after ever sense Charlese starts to live alone with her sister Juju who parties a few times a month and she pays Charlese her little sister $100.00 so she won't sleep and take care of everything to make sure everything is perfect Charlese makes Maleeka destroy Miss Saunders room that is their new very ugly teacher with a really big birth mark on her face that it seems that they threw her acid and Jonh-Jonh another black minimi starts to bother her with a song that is "Maleeka, Maleeka- baboom, boom, boom, we sure wanna keep her, baboom, boom, boom but she so black, baboom, boom, boom, we just can see her" and once she saves him because she had to work to pay the money for destroying Miss Saunders classroom but it was Charlese her hidden enemy but when she's working she finds Jonh-Jonh and they walked together a moment after that there are three guys that are after Jonh-Jonh and a fight starts then Maleeka remembers when she was about to get violated so she tried to scream but nothing came out after that she screams and hit the guys and in the neighborhood said "we can not let anyone hit girls" and Caleb the guy she likes comes out with his mother and then she starts to starts gaining hope and at the end she says that it was Charlese the one that destroyed the room and they let-ed Maleeka back in to school and Caleb gives her a poem about how beautiful she is and Jonh-Jonh said "Yeah" "Welcome back" THE END.

[Black Girls Read Books, Too · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books, I loved that the main character Meeka was a dark skinned black girl and that she learned how to love and appreciate herself. This is a childhood favorite of mine.

[chantel nouseforaname · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oooh I loved this.

Oh man, I can see why this book has been in publication so long and why it's passed around and round young black girls in elementary and high school. It's a charming story.

Let me tell you tho — in elementary school I knew a girl just like Char. Victims of violence and/or abuse or neglect in their own homes, they'd come to school and take it out on the other kids around them. I feel like we all know someone like that. It's fucked because it's a natural element of our world, the hard unrelenting bits will try to shape the curious, softer things and it's so important to reinforce justice, logic and standing up for yourself at home. Reinforce that. It all starts with creating the element of safety at home — safety and engagement / curiousity of how your kids and partners and siblings are actually doing. Allowing the space for conversation and connection. When I was a kid my mom always asked me: yo, Chantel is anyone bullying you at school, saying shit to you at school? Your sister? Is anyone acting out of line? Anything crazy happening? My dad always said — yo do not let anyone lay their hands on you. I'm not saying that this is a fail safe plan, no way. There's always situations that will arise, but letting kids know that they're valuable and don't have to follow the herd mentality is something I always took with me.

Now, Char. LORDDDDDT.

Let's get into this sentence from page. 135:

"I stare Char in the eyes. Momma always says you can tell a person by their eyes. Char’s eyes don’t have no life to them. They’re cold and hard like flat black skipping rocks you find at the bottom of the creek.

I shake my head. ″No, I ain’t doing it,″ I say softly. But Char squeezes my shoulder so hard, I hear my bones creak." — pg. 135 in The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake

Oooh man, Char is the reason you gotta teach your children to fight when they're young. Teach them how to throw a punch or slap a bitch into a new existence.

Like I hate condoning violence. I don't want to really but we have to talk about the reality of school, the world, etc. There's ALWAYS gonna be a bitch like Char you're gonna have to smash.. she's like the boss bully in a videogame. To live a peaceful existence, you're gonna have to crush her like an empty bag of chips.

You may not win, but it's not about winning. It's about showing her that you're ready if she's picking on you. Like what!? You think these bullies aren't exhausted too? They're tired of the shit they're doing as well, so practice your crazy eyes, your clapbacks, your whatever-if-you-have-to and most importantly - practice being alone. You don't need anyone around that's going to make you feel crazy or cause you to harm others. There's just never a moment where you'll need that.

If you're struggling alone — find your numbers, the solo kids need to link up. Even just one is better than a bunch you don't like! Like. I don't know. Link up solo kids. Join some clubs.

I remember high school and tho I didn't have to fight more than once, I was ready to fight a bitch if it came to it, for me, my siblings, my bestfriends — if it came to it.

Again, violence is never the answer. *Looks side to side & whispers** ...unless, violence was the question they brought to you.

Don't listen to me, but for real... Also, good teachers are a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most folks. Listen to them. Treat them well. Cherish their presence.

[Dolceluna ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maleeka, tredici anni, studentessa di colore in una scuola “difficile”.
Attorno a lei delle compagne bulle e dei compagni un po’ scemotti, non sono riuscita a provare simpatia né per le une né per gli altri, fino alla fine (nonostante l’ipocrita happy end).
E, all’improvviso una professoressa nuova, dall’aspetto bizzarro e dai modi pazienti e comprensivi, che cerca di tirar fuori il buono che c’è in lei, nello specifico il potere della fantasia e l’amore per la scrittura.
Una sorta di “Attimo fuggente” sbiadito e di poco impatto, nonostante le buone intenzioni e l’efficace tessuto narrativo. Un altro romanzo fintamente young-adult (in realtà secondo me anche adult) che cerca di fare della brevità un suo punto di forza ma che esplora dei temi importantissimi (qui il razzismo, il bullismo, l’accettazione di sé e della diversità), i quali richiederebbero un po’ più di approfondimento e di spazio, anche per un giovane lettore.
Menzione speciale per la deliziosa copertina.

[Ash R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl who is trying to let people see her for who she is, not the color of her skin. In school a young girl is troubled by classmates about the color of her skin. She is looked at differently, she wants to be beautiful not realizing that she already is. She is changing a lot about herself, and she isn't doing it for herself. She learns not to change for no one, only herself.

I can make a text to self connection with her insecurities. I know how it feels like, kind of like you want to hide your face. You feel so caught up and alone. Even though everyone might be around you, your afriad of what they might think of you.

I would rate this book a 5 because I could relate to the girl and her feelings of everyone judging her. It made me feel like I want the only one that went through that. This book, was like a guide to me, and help me to improve in some friend situations, and myself confident situations! Thank God my teacher Sadelle started it in class, and then I finished it!

[Adamaris Jauregui · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is about a girl named Maleeka and people in her school bully her about how black she is.She is friends with a girl named Charlise which she gives her clothes( that is the only reason that she is friends with her) is really mean and she is sacred that if she stop being her friend she will beat her up.I like this book a lot because it talks about real thing that happen in peoples life.I recommended this book to person that like book about school drama.

[Colleen Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for all young kids and adults

[Neha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Liked the story but my mood failed me from connecting with the main character despite us having many similarities. I may have to re read this later.

[Daniel Feldman · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Skin I'm In.......hmmmmm.....No. The Skin I'm In has a great plot. Good characters, good concept, good life lessons, but is just executed horribly. THE WHOLE ENTIRE BOOK IS ABOUT THE CHARACTERS NOT THE PLOT!!!! 75% of this book is focusing on the personality of the characters and their minor issues. Finally, the author starts tying the plot into the story and 10 pages later the book is over. Ladies and gentleman of goodreads, let me tell you I was not satisified. I literally looked around my room to see if any of the book's pages had fell out, because truthfully, I didn't even think the book was over. Ladies and gentleman of goodreads I persuade you not to read this book, but write a new version of it.

[Gabriela Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maleeka Madision, the main character and narrator if the book the Skin Im In tells a story about her life and how she has low self-esteem. In the beginning off the book and everyday school she would have to face obstacles off people humiliating her and bullying get until one day she had enough. Maleeka Madison get teased because of the color of her skin. In my opinion I believe that this is a very good book because she has helped me believe more in myself. Regardless of all the bullying she has gone threw she rises to the top by telling herself everyday that she is beautiful and she appericates what God has gave her. This book is excellent for kids that have low self-esteem and don't have faith in themselves.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of the best books I've read in a long time. So much drama conveyed with so few words. I'm working with a group of young people now and they are reading and finding the book riveting. This book is about jealousy, loss, remembrance, love, bullying, beauty -- all the things that we have experienced but told in such a voice that the word almost sing off the pages.

Teens will especially like this and I do understand it was written for YA audience. But I loved it and I'm far from YA. Kids I'm working with would love to see this as a movie.

[Alejandra Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think this book was really touching because there are people in real life who have to live like that every day of there life.I believe the hardest part for me to read was that her dad died,she has to go through bulling and they tried to rape her.I like how she basically goes on a quest to find what kind of personality she will have and find who she really is.I recommend this story to people who are bullies so they can under stand how really do they make the people feel i real life not just ooh i think this is funny and ill make my class laugh and that's all i have to say!

[Jesus Montes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl that was black and every body made fun of her and she got bullied a lot and at the end she became less bullied at school.I liked this book because it tells how the character finds a solution to there problem.I would recommend this book to my friend that got bullied a lot because of his or her color.

[da AL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forget about kids -- adults need to read this! Being a kid has never been easy, all the more so for a teenaged girl of color... Intelligent & full of heart, Flake is an amazing author. Now I want to know what happens to Char!...

[Kayin Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book.
It's about a black girl try to fend for herself trying to survive all the JERKS!
I recommend it to people who get bullied.
READ IT!!!!

[Giniah_Queen (Giniah F)]

I totally LOVED this book!

[Makiya Dees · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like depressing beginnings and uplifting endings then The skin I'm In is the book for you.This book is realistic.This book is about a girl named Maleeka who gets picked on everyday about multiple things such as the darkness of her skin or her good grades or her clothing.***SPOILER ALERT*** Maleeka and Miss Saunders start to get along better because they start to see eye to eye, even though Maleeka and char almost burned down Ms.Saunders classroom. She didn't give them an extreme consequence and she didn't treat them any different!!!!!
This book takes place mostly at McClenton Middle School.Maleeka got Nothing but straight A's and that's what they didn't like about her,she was smart and she couldn't help it. Maleek is a good girl but she tries to fit in with charlese who's I wouldn't sauna bad girl she's just a problem-child she doesn't have a mother they didn't say where her mother was or what happen to her and they never mentioned her father but yea char is disrespectful towards the teachers and other adults and she skips classes.Maleeka barrow's clothes from char everyday because char's sister buys all the new and up to day stuff for her while maleeka's mother makes her clothing.
I really liked how the Sharon G. Flake described the characters in the book very well, for example how she describe Miss Saunders.In the text it states,"Miss Saunders is as different as they come.First off, she got a man's. name, Michael. Now who ever heard of a woman named that? She's still tall and fat like nobody's business, and she's got the smallest feet I ever seen. Worse yet, she's got a giant white stain spread halfway across her face like somebody tossed acid on it or something." That help me picture and understand what miss Saunders looked like better.
A couple of different lessons I learned from this book is to pick and choose who you hang around, Be yourself don't change for anyone, you have to see the beauty in yourself because no one else will.Maleeka was very self-confident in herself she thought she was ugly and she thought she had to hang with char fit in even though char treated maleeka like she was invisible or she was a nobody or something.
I would Rate this book or shall I say I souls give this book 5 stars because this book was very interesting Drama story I felt that this story was very creative and that's why it was one of Sharon G. Flakes award winning books. In this book maleeka was a very smart bright and pretty girl but everybody else didn't think so and they made her feel/ think she was ugly and not pretty enough to have friends or even a boyfriend maleeka made some very bad decisions in the book such as smoking cigarettes or almost burning the classroom/school down.I would recommend this book to everyone that likes drama's and twists in a story.If you like depressing beginning and uplifting endings then this is the book for you.

[Ryan Milbrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading every Bluford series book till my mind melted into a primordial soup of teenage soap-opera drama I wanted to explore other avenues of narrative readings. Finding fictional reading material that relates to my students has been difficult. I teach a classroom of eight, primarily African-American and Hispanic females in a special education, self-contained classroom at an alternative school in Milwaukee, WI. I teach all subjects, from grades 8th through 12th and my students are usually at the end of a long line of social-services options. This is not the stereotypical Freedom Writers, Dangerous Minds type of classroom. It comes with real issues of trauma and struggles to become independent women. The bluford series books, while engaging with real issues, are often times seen by my students as a diversion-like a good reality show. I took a chance on The Skin I’m In because when I read it, it handled the themes of identity, self-esteem and, self-consciousness of appearance that I found being discussed among my students.

Maleeka Madison is a bright, 7th grader who struggles with low self-esteem because of darker-skin complexion. Charlese, a tough, street wise kid, befriends Madison after learning that Madison is very smart. The two form a mutually beneficial relationship where Madison does Charlese's school work, and Charlese gives Madison designer clothing. However, Charelese acts more as a bully to Madison than a friend, and constantly demeans her in order to feel superior in their "friendship." The conflict in the book focuses on Madison’s choice to follow the guidance of a new English Teacher, Miss Saunders, rather than her peers who act like crabs in a barrel.

Not only has Flake written a realistic novel about the relationships of pre-teens in middle school, but she has incorporated the experiences, prejudices, etc. that would be found in young, African-American girls. Flake has also incorporated elements of urban hard living into the story. Its complexity and depth made it relatable to my class. Everyone could think of a Charlese in their life – a “friend” who did more to drag you down into the depths of despair than lift you up. While escaping reality is good for some choices of non-fiction, confronting it often provides more insight into our own lives.

[Misse Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is RIVETING! Layers deep. An exemplary examination of teenaged life inside and outside the walls of middle school and its many nuances. In ”The Skin I’m In”, Sharon G. Flake hits home in so many ways. It’s real and raw and honest. Each of the characters reminding us about what it’s like to be a kid again. The struggles with personal and external acceptance. The feelings of hopelessness and misplaced anger and emotion to go around. Definitely shedding further light on the old adage, “who needs enemies when you’ve got friends.

In this coming of age novel we meet 7th grader Maleeka Madison who encounters everyday struggles at school, in particular. She deals with bullying and body shaming, peer pressure but most of all colorist as other kids continuously pick on her because of her dark skin. They consider her an outcast because she cannot afford to dress like them. Two in particular, Char and John John have become her leading antagonist and often Maleeka finds herself struggling with do what she believes and knows to be right and doing what she believes she needs to do to survive them. Against this backdrop, however, Maleeka finds support in an unlikely ally — her teacher, Mrs. Saunders. Forcing her to come to question who she is and who she aspires to be.

Through the lens of a 7th grader we see and are reminded just how mean kids can sometimes be and how they can grow up to be just as mean adults. I loved this read and encourage you to give it a go, if you haven’t already.

I’m looking forward to reading its sequel, ”The Life I’m In.”

THEMES: bullying, physical violence, verbal abuse, identification issues, colorism…

[Haylee Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about Maleeka Madison, who constantly gets made fun of for being the darkest girl at school. However, Maleeka is incredibly smart and kind-hearted. She has a complicated relationship with the “mean girl” in school, her new teacher, and a classmate.
I probably would’ve given this 5 stars if I read this prior to being a teacher, but the fact that it was originally published in 1998 and set in a school made it really hard for me to read some of it. Like we simply can not just let a student fail the 7th grade three times or complain about how all of your students are failing your class because they suck at taking tests and there’s just nothing you can do to help them not fail lol

[Miszladiisparklesz · Rating 5 out of 5]

SHOUT OUT: This book is about a girl named maleeka and her skin is dark and she doesnt like the way she looks. maleekas' teacher mrs.saunders tells her that she looks beautiful. These girls that are somewhat of a clique are in the bathroom smoking and maleeka is with them so that one of the girls name charlese is kind olf rich and maleeka wears her clothes. Maleeka wears charlese clothes so that she can look nice but one day charlese gets mad at her and starts being rude because she is working in the office and she doesn't wanna give her a pass to class because she is late. This book has great dialouge, great characters, and great sceneariy. the issue in this book is that maleeka doesn't wanna like the way she looks so she teys to change the way people look at her by chaning herself on the outside. The book made me look at people in ways that i would never look at someone like if i saw a girl or boy that looked crazy i would automatically think that they were crazy but now i just get to know people and not judge them in a way where i wouldn't want them to see me or judge me.

CREATIVE RESPONSE:
Dear Diary,

When I first noticed maleeka i knew she had some type potential. The way she carried herself as a young lady was not the way i usally see young ladies act. I noticed her clothes but jusr like the saying "dont judge a book by its cover" that what i use on people. when i taught maleeka i knew thhat she was a very bright as a student. When i gave out assignments or projects her assignment or project was on a college level. The more i taught her thw I learned about her and her feelings I nerver asumed that she hasn't had potential but there was no self-confident in her. The way she looked was perfect i thought. Maleeka work in school is more than I expected. Maleeka hangs out with the wring crowd. Maleeka hangs out with Charlese because she is going to be above the influence. I know Maleeka is feels like everyone make
fun of her because he mother makes her clothes. Maleeka doesn't know that looks do not get you anywhere education does. Maleeka is a stragiht A+ student. Also she is a part-time worker in the office. Maleeka passes all her classes but if she keeps hanging out with the charlese and her gang maleeka will start failing her classes.
FROM: MRS.SAUNDERS