In Their Skin

by Kari Morey

Thirty voices. Thirty first impressions. Thirty untold stories written in thirty different styles. Students today face so many more challenges than simply learning Algebra or choosing a date for Homecoming. Many students worry about being deported, facing their rapist, surviving bullies, overcoming stereotypes, forgetting horrific memories, and getting into the right college. Within the walls of a high school Junior English class in Racine, Wisconsin, the different voices inside intertwine, collide, and shake you to the core, all while the students try to complete an assignment in a 90 minute block of time. Meet Jack, a transgender student who challenges your dependence on gender pronouns. Meet Shauntee, an aggressive young woman who, layer by layer, demonstrates the effects of childhood trauma. Meet a young man with autism, who experiences the worst kind of terror that is all too real today. These students, along with 27 others, will make you cry and make you laugh, but most importantly, they will make you walk a mile In Their Skin. As a guide for while you read, here are the writing styles for each Alejandra is written as a bilingual memoir. Lin is written in multiple 6-word memoirs. Annabelle is written as a letter to herself for her psychiatrist. Will is written as stream-of-consciousness while high on marijuana. Shauntee is written as an extended metaphor, comparing her to layers of an onion. Jazmine is written as a free-verse poem. Jack is written with gender-neutral pronouns. Miguel is written as a questionnaire. Lennyn is written as two news stories. Trey is written in the style of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Alex is written with magic realism as the fantasy of gaming becomes his reality. Guillermo uses the symbolism of the life cycle of a tree to represent his life experience. Isabella is written in only photographs she has taken. Maddie T. is written as a play with a series of monologues. Caleb is written within the framework of a coin trick. Megan is written in the style of one of John Steinbeck's chapters in Grapes of Wrath. Samantha is written in second person. Gina is written within the framework of creating a vision board assignment after being diagnosed with cancer. Ms. M. is written in the stream-of-consciousness of a teacher's mind. Eric is written as a letter to a university. David is written within the framework of basketball plays, Madhavaditya is written through the extended symbol of a mirror, starting with his reflection and what other people see then moving on to the real him. Evan is written as a sketch journal. Maddie is written within the framework of multiple social media posts on her phone. Kenya is written with visual formatting to represent the internal division of a biracial, lesbian student filling out an application. Jenna is written as stream-of-consciousness of an over-achieving student. Anthony is written within the framework of how songs interact with the mind. Haley is written between two sides of her conscience telling her what to do. Adam is written as a series of kennings (these are 2-3 word styles of metaphor used in some old English writing). Tommy is written as stream-of-consciousness of an autistic student.

173 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 19, 2020

Reviews

[Kristin Feick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brought about so many emotions. Being a teacher, I’ve met kids just like the ones in this book, though younger as I teach elementary. The families and backgrounds that student come from are heart-wrenching…from the over- scheduled and afraid to mess up all the way to the harsh and abusive home lives, students come with so much baggage it’s incredibly exhausting to deal with. And then the teachers lives are spinning trying to make all of it work at school and at home…this work is so stressful in so many ways. This book was an amazing description of what today’s high-schoolers are living with daily. Bravo!

[Annalee · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some strong stories in the text. Anthony, Shauntee, Lin, and Alejandra were the most thought provoking for me. They should the impact of racism and misogyny on societal and personal relationships. It also made me think, as an IB educator, are we making inquiry based education accessible to all? How can we do that from PYP to DP/CP?

[Virginia Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing account of students life situations