The Skin I'm In
| Author | Sharon G. Flake |
|---|---|
| Country | South America |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Bullying/Faith giving |
| Genre | Realistic fiction |
| Publisher | Hyperion |
Publication date | 1998 |
| Media type | Print(paperback) |
| Pages | 171 |
| ISBN | 0-7868-1307-5 |
The Skin I'm In is a realistic fiction novel written by Sharon G. Flake. It was published by Hyperion Books on January 3, 2000. It depicts the story of seventh grader Maleeka Madison who has low self-esteem because of her dark skin color. Thirteen-year-old Maleeka Madison is tall, skinny, and dark-skinned. That's a problem for her, because it's such a problem for everyone else at school, it seems. To make her life easier, Maleeka befriends the toughest girl in school. Only bullies force you to pay more than you’d like, so life for Maleeka just gets harder, until she learns to stand up for herself and love the skin she's in.
Summary
Bullying in school can be a terrible experience, and yet sometimes it can be quite hard to see the reason for the bullying. Why, for instance, would a black boy tease a black girl about being black?
"John-John McIntyre is the smallest seventh grader in the world. Even fifth graders can see over his head. Sometimes I have a hard time believing he and me are both thirteen. He's my color, but since second grade he's been teasing me about being too black. At first, there doesn't seem to be a reason why John-John might be teasing Maleeka. Perhaps he's jealous because Maleeka is a tall, cute, smart young lady even if she doesn't quite realize it yet, she's rather gorgeous too. And perhaps he's also jealous of her relationship with Caleb.
"He stared at me half the year. I thought he saw what everybody else saw. Skinny, poor, black, geek Maleeka. But Caleb saw something different. He said I was pretty. He said he liked my eyes and sweet cocoa brown skin. He wrote me poems and letters. He put spearmint gum inside. Walked me to class. Gave me a ring. I ain't told Momma."[1]
So when John-John ruined it for Maleeka and Caleb, Maleeka was left with no-one on her side. Maybe it wasn't a very clever move, but Maleeka teamed up with Charlese and her gang, out of self-protection. That didn't improve things much, but it was better than nothing. Until Charlese decided to see how far she could push Maleeka, too ...
Maleeka is in a difficult situation and there doesn't seem to be anyone she can turn to. She makes some pretty bad mistakes before she finally realises that the new English teacher, the outspoken Miss Saunders, really is on her side.
Main characters
- Maleeka Madison- A poor, African-American girl who gets teased harshly at her middle school because of her dark skin color and homemade clothes.Maleeka learns to come to terms in the skin she is in.
- Charlese Jones (Char)- The antagonist of the story. She is a fast talking trouble making girl who is one of Maleeka's top teasers. She lends Maleeka her expensive outfits in exchange for Maleeka doing her homework.
- Miss Saunders- Maleeka's English teacher. She has a rare skin disorder on her face that she says no one was able to get rid of. So instead, she doesn't let it get in her way. She is confident and essentially is what Maleeka dreams of being.
- John-John- Another one of the people at Maleeka's school who teases her. He made a song about how dark she was on a class trip. He later reveals to Maleeka that the reason he teases her so much is because when Maleeka first moved to their neighborhood in second grade she didn't want to sit by him, therefore, he assumed she thought she was better than him.
- Caleb- Maleeka's love interest.He's a caring boy who really cares about his school and doesn't care about what people think about him. He's a little shy when it comes to Maleeka.
- Raina and Raise- Charlese's "[sidekick]s" in a way. They agree with everything and go along with everything Char does.
- Momma/ Mrs. Madison (Maleeka's mother)- Maleeka's loving mother. Though devastated after the death of her husband, Mrs. Madison still pushes Maleeka to do well in school and tries to relieve some of her depression through sewing Maleeka clothes. Some people believe that she is crazy although Maleeka believes that she is a very smart and bright mother.
Awards
- Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent
- Publishers Weekly Author to Watch
- New York Public Library Top Ten Book for the Teen Age
- YALSA Best Books for Young Adult Readers
- YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers
- Texas Lonestar Reading List
- Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year
- YWCA Racial Justice Award
- Detroit Free Library Author of the Year Award
- Starred Review in Publishers Weekly