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The Skin I'm in
by Sharon Flake
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Corgi Childrens (2001-08-06)
ISBN: 0552547638
EAN: 9780552547635
Paperback: 192 pages
SKU: B344-1340
Condition: Like New
Comments: UNREAD but may have minor imperfections such as a crease or mark. In stock - quick dispatch, from an efficient and professional leading British bookselling firm.
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Editorial Reviews
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Maleeka, the narrator of The Skin I'm In, is blacker than most of her classmates in seventh grade. She gets frustrated at being teased for her skin colour, that's like "a blue-black sky after it's rained and rained", by pupils who are also black--just a little bit less so. When Miss Saunders joins the school to teach as an experiment, on loan from an advertising agency, it is not just her posh clothes that make people talk but also her down-to-earth-attitude and her unusual face. Sharon G Flake seemingly sets up a typical tale of adolescents coming to terms with their differences--visual and emotional--not least through the less-than-subtle title, However, despite the references to skin colour and teenagers' reactions to physical appearance, Flake treats her characters and story delicately. There are no blatant truisms about not judging a book by its cover, and the story works itself out without any need to hold forth on equality, whatever a person's background. Maleeka's character grows and develops, particularly through her creative writing about a young black slave girl, which adds depth and imagination to what could be another high-school morality tale. Flake has reflected teenage fretting over right and wrong sensitively so that readers will sympathise with the characters while making their own subconscious judgments. --Olivia Dickinson
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Customer Reviews
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Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Rating  (5)
Date: 2007-02-21
I picked this book up from a display of books celebrating Black History Month. I'm really glad I did. It's perfect for anyone seeking the answers to those soul-searching questions of "Who am I?" and "Why am I the way I am?"
THE SKIN I'M IN is the story of Maleeka Madison and her struggle to accept who she is and discover what she can accomplish.
Maleeka is uncomfortable in her life. Her father died and to cope with his absence her mother has become a "sewing fool." Maleeka hates the awful clothes her mother makes for her, but she loves her mother and doesn't want to hurt her feelings. Maleeka is also self-conscious because she is black - very black. Her classmates have teased her since elementary school. Her only friends are the others who don't seem to fit in.
Life begins to change for Maleeka. First her wardrobe improves when she meets Charlese. Maleeka agrees to do Char's homework in exchange for the chance to borrow Char's designer clothes. Unfortunately, Char takes control of way more than Maleeka's clothing style.
Another change is a new teacher in Maleeka's life. Miss Saunders is part of a business exchange program with the schools. Business executives have been invited to teach in the public schools as part of a program to improve education and allow the business community to "give back" to the schools. Miss Saunders has her own difficulties. She dresses well and carries herself proudly despite a disfiguring facial scar. Viewing her students' files shows Miss Saunders that Maleeka is filled with untapped potential, and she makes it her goal to help Maleeka recognize her true gifts and develop them.
Sharon G. Flake was awarded the 1999 Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for new writers for this debut novel. It speaks strongly of how hard it is to gain acceptance for the good one has to offer, instead of earning fame by taking a sometimes easier, yet more dangerous path. I highly recommend this book for middle grade classrooms. It's filled with great opportunities for group discussion.
Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
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The Skin I'm In
Rating  (4)
Date: 2006-07-16
This was a good book. It was tactfully and well written in a style that made you have your own opinions on Maleeka, her Mum, her life, her friends and left you asking a lot of questions. This book doesn't show justice: it shows injustice. It is about a black girl called Maleeka who is picked on at school because of the colour of her dark skin and her home-made clothes. Maleeka runs into trouble when the people she thought were her friends suddenly change and want her to start doing stuff that she is not sure she is prepared to do. Can she find her way out of it?
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good but a little dull at times!
Rating  (3)
Date: 2006-04-23
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This sad novel is about a black girl, Maleeka, who is bullied because of the colour of her skin colour, her unique style of clothes and her difficult mother.
She is in her early teens and unfortunately teased by her classmates who are either white or a lighter shade of black. This is an interesting dilemma as those who are discriminating against her are not only white children but also those whose skin colour is only slightly less than her own. Such a difference is not the usual type of race discrimination.
Maleeka's father is dead and she is brought up by a mother who appears to deal with the loneliness by throwing herself into making old-fashioned clothes which she insists Maleeka wears. These clothes make Maleeka feel even more different at school and so she befriends the school bully, Charlese, who, in return for having her homework done by Maleeka brings her clothes which are in the style of the other children.
When a new teacher, Miss Saunders (not the same one that we all know and love!), joins the school Maleeka finds herself for the first time working with the class in a group to harass the teacher. Maleeka is for the first time not the centre of the class bullying. Miss Sanders is bullied because she looks different as she has a face which has been badly scarred in a fire. Maleeka bullies her and it is only when her actions lead her to trouble with the headmaster that she realises how hypocritical this behaviour is. How can she persecute this teacher when she herself has previously been a victim?
This book is a good read about not only white on black racism, but black on black racism. It is an extremely intense novel with difficult language told in the first person. For example, "That didn't bother Shelly none" is a perfect instance where a double negative is used. This personal touch, though well thought out, can make the book a long read, when really it is only 188 pages!
Sharon Flake, the authoress, on the plus side uses a very clever parallel. Miss Saunders sets the loveable Maleeka a piece of diary writing. Maleeka writes about a black slave girl and her troubles. This shows Maleeka being a slave to Charlese and her troubles with and without her.
This story is at points dull but the ending is magical writing. It shows the reader the stress, sadness and aggravation that many groups of the community (to use the politically correct term!) feel at schools around the world.
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The skin I'm In
Rating (5)
Date: 1999-07-09
2 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
Sharon Flake has done a superb job of presenting the delightful character of Maleeka Madison. She uses tact in opening up issues of peer pressure. Maleeka must confront her own problem by accepting who she is no matter what the color of her skin is.
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This book tells it like it is.
Rating (5)
Date: 1999-05-09
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Maleeka Madison, the main characer of Sharon Flake's first novel is a victim of black on black teasing because of her dark skin and her homemade clothing. The dialogue and attitude of Flake's characters are true to today's schools and the situations and choices Maleeka makes create an interesting and tense story. Libraries need not hesitate on the purchase of this book - it's high-interest and extremely well written.
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