The Skin I'm In

This Book Is Awesome!

Maleeka Madison, an average middle school student, has trouble fitting in at her school. Students tease her about the dark colors of her skin. Maleeka lives with her Mom in a urban area. Her Dad died not too long ago. Maleeka is picked on for the way she dresses, the color of her skin, and she is constantly under peer-pressure around her "so-called" best friends. Her small crew consists of three people: Char, Raina, and Raise. They force her to do things she totally dreads to do and treats her like their own personal slave. One day a new teacher namd Miss Saunders came to their school as an english teacher. Maleeka and other students noticed that she had what looked like a white stain across her forehead. Little did Maleeka know, Miss Saunders was goiong to help her out tremendously in the long-run. When Maleeka got in trouble because of things Char caused, Miss Saunders was the one who helped her, but Maleeka ignored the help and kept hanging with the wrong crowd. Char, Maleeka's friend,decided she did not like Miss Saunders, so she wanted to vandalize her classroom and wanted Maleeka to do the dirtiest work of all. At first they tried to blame it on Maleeka, but she did not want to be falsely accused. On that day, she came out and said who was behind it. After that, she was still in trouble, but she finally accepted herself for the skin she was in. This book is great for people who have trouble finding themselves. It is something that Jr. High kids can actually relate to. Anyone under peer-pressure opr is being bullied should read this book. If you are a young reader looking for something simple, but exciting to read, I definitely reccomend this book. It is fullof irony and surprises on every page. Things that you would have never thought would happen shows up and gets you on the edge of your seat. Once you start reading this, you will not put it down!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sassy,smart,and dramatic

When I read this I could completely relate to her.
I had self esteem problems to and knew how it felt to be bullied in school and be an outcast.

I really loved this book. I read it three times.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

SKIN DOES NOT DEFINE THE PERSON

This is an excellent read for all tweens through adults. The culture of our world places restrictions and boundaries based on ethnicity, religion, location, status, and color or the lack of color. It is not about the skin, but what comes from the person.

Sharon G. Flake clearly painted a profound picture of descrimination and how we make acceptions just so that we can belong to a group of people that are inferior to us. This story is clearly written with no hidden messages. I appreciated that the writing was not filled with empty facts and fluff material to add length to the story.

This book should be mandatory reading on every middle school, high school, and college campuses. Copies of this book should be placed in teachers lounges and breakrooms around the world.

Everyone should buy the book, read it, get the message, and pass it on to someone else.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is GREAT!!! Once i started reading this book i couldn'

This book is GREAT!!! Once i started reading this book i couldn't put it down. This is a MUST read book!!! ALL GIRLS READ THIS BOOK!!!!

You must check it out!!!!!!!!!

This book is great because it could wisk you away and make you want to read on to pages after pages

Every Girl In The World Should Read This Book!

I love this book when I was in the sixth grade my teacher Mrs.Richardson read this book to our class I could relate to the character so much( not the tall part i'm short) it was just a eye opener it did change my way of thinking for the better I'm happy to be a beautiful African American young lady I am now 20 years old and I still remember this book I work with children and I can't wait to read this with them.I would recommend this book to girls of all races!

Highly recommended/amazingly interesting

The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake is a fiction book. This is about a 13 year old girl in middle school. The school that she go's to is McClenton Middle School. Her name is Maleeka Madison. This takes place mostly at school and home. The most she gets picked on is when Miss. Saunders comes along. She is the new teacher in the school. Maleeka's best friend Charlese (Char) HATES being told what to do, but when Miss Saunders steps up to the plate Char doesn't like it at all.

I would recommend this book from grades 5-8 because it has a lot of things happen that little kid wouldn't understand. I liked The Skin Im In because the action starts right at the beginning. Its not boring and drags on like a fish being pulled out of the water. I also like the character Maleeka because she is out- going and a risk- taker that just wants to have fun. Like when she was walking home from Chars house and she knew that neighborhood was dangerous but she still walked to the and back. But something did happened, remember when I said the boys tried to make her kiss them. Well yeah that was when she was walking home from Chars. Anyway I would rate this book an 8.5 out of 10. This is a good book for when you get bored and have nothing to do on a snow day. When I started reading his book I could not put the book down. It put me in a whole other place, like I didn't even know what was going on in my house.

Necessary Read

Maleeka Madison didn't always feel bad about herself. It was the taunting and teasing of her peers that caused her to feel like she was nothing because she had dark skin. Besides making fun of her complexion they teased her about her hair and her clothes and they even picked on her because the teachers liked her and because she got good grades. It seemed like there was nothing she could do to be accepted. Then one day Maleeka created a fictional character for an English assignment. Eventually, this made up slave girl helps Maleeka find the courage to speak up for herself, demand respect and accept the skin she's in. This story shows just how much some young people have to deal with and how cruel other young people can be. The message Flake makes very clear: Self acceptance is much more important than social acceptance

Ok book. Good for a quick read.

I read The Skin I'm In in about two days. It was a very short read with a lot of peer pressure issues being recognized in the story, which I think is important in the life of a teenager. Maleeka is faced with the pressure to kiss the two thugs, burn the school, and skip class to smoke. In the story she frequently writes in her Akeelma diaries to take her mind off the pressure from Charlese that she feels every day. Her feelings of pressure only increase when John-John sings the song written about Maleeka in front of her. Her only real friend is her Mom, who makes her clothes and frequently gives her advice about life. The story escalates when she sneaks into school on a Saturday and burns a classroom to ashes. In reality, it was Charlese that burned the room, but the only Maleeka knows that. The tale was a heart wrenching tale, but poorly written. I do not recommend the story to anyone above seventh grade. Joe Roddey, Ms. Lasley's 2B class.

Come and get this awesome book.!

Are you looking for a great ,entertaining book that will make you feel like you are actually in the book?Well then check out "The skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake. To tell you a little about the book,there is lots of things that this book talks about. The protagonist of this book is maleeka is a young teenage girl that has a pretty tough life because her mom doesn't get paid really good and her dad left her and her mom when meleeka was a little girl. The book begins with maleeka not having enough clothes and wearing the same clothes to school each week so she complains with her mom about that issue.

The plot gets really good when I start to read about one of maleekas friend. This girl is one of the popular girls in school. Every boy wants to go out with her. All the girls want to be like her. My favorite part of the book was when maleeka stood up for her own self and was not scare of that one girl that she has always been scared of. She had the guts to put the girl in her place. I like this part because that tells me that even though my character may show that she listens and does what other people tell her at least she has something inside of her that tells her to stand up for her self when its the right time.

As I read,this book made me think about how in every school girls like this girl exist they try to make their friends do bad things just so they can fit in her group. Teens can connect to this book well mostly girls because this problem mostly happens with girls and sometimes with boys. This book helped me realize the you control your life. This theme was clear when I kept on reading on how that girl made maleeka do things she didn't wan to do. To put it in little words she bossed maleeka around too much and when maleeka finally opened her eyes and said "stop I control my life not you".

I really enjoyed reading this book.! I think this book was in between good and bad. Why? Well because its good in a way that the author describes each event. Its bad because you kind of get tired of reading about the same things that happened each day. I would recommend this book to someone that likes to read about suspense stories about teenage girls.

You must read this amazing book!!!

Maleeka is a young girl in junior high, with low self-esteem. She is having a hard time dealing with problems at home. At school everyone teases her for the color of her skin. Because of the position she is in she hangs out with the wrong people. The new teacher helps her on her journey to gaining her confidence, to love herself for who she is. She eventually learns to be assertive and to love the skin she was born in.

Perfect for....anyone!

Maleeka is a teenage girl who tries to fit in the best way she can in middlle school like any other teen! Sharon really knew what she was doing when she wrote it!
Maleeka,a 6th grader at McCleaton Middle,has beautiful black skin and her peers always pick on her for it.The main one who does it the most is Jhon-Jhon.He always calls her names,makes faces at her and he's even made a mean song about her! When Caleb sees this he stops talking to Maleeka so she won't get picked on,but that makes the problem worse.So with no options left,Maleeka goes to Charlese Jones for help.Char lets her hang with her and the twinsand gives her clothes,but she takes advantage of her.But then,Miss Saunders comes in the picture and changes everything....and she isn't scared of nobody!

I gave it two stars to be nice.

I found this book uninspiring and stereotypical. I didn't like it at all.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great read. Wonderful life lesson!

The author gives insight into not only the lead character but every African American girl that has to deal with the color of her skin and the challenges of life that comes with it. It is an encouraging book that is great for just leisure reading and/or a better understanding of one's self.

The Skin I'm In

This book is an inspiration for young girls who deal with peer pressure. The story tells about the life of a typical girl in middle school who is finding and becoming comfortable with her self. The book addresses self-esteem, and the audacity of one to make wise decisions. The book is also able to help girls cope with being taunted for their appearances. "I stare at myself for maybe twenty minutes in Daddy's mirror. I don't get it. I think I'm kind of nice-looking. Why don't other people see what I see? I think." The main character (Maleeka) struggles with being pulled in various directions by friends, family, and teachers. Maleeka's teachers and her mother want to see her do well, her friend's not so much. At the end of the day the most important thing to remember is that you only have yourself. Flake does an outstanding job portraying teenaged girls and their struggles.

about maleeka

Maleeka is like a responsible person that I will probably be her but right now I would be myself but if I was her I would not listen to Charlese and Charlese would fight me I would fight her back because if you tell the teacher they would care but Char wouldn't.Since JuJu(charlese only oldest sister)wouldn't care either.The only time when she care is when Miss Saunders let Char past she would be more happy. But Maleeka she love to learn, love to write about Akeelma and she loved Caleb.

The Skin I'm in by Sharon Flake

The skin I'm in is great book. What like about the book is Maleeka the main charather, she been always tease about the color of her skin. This is the reason she has low self-steem. She is in the 7th grade along comes Miss Saunders, then its when the problems begins. I liked the end of the book because Maleeka becomes stronger and confident her self. I recomend to read this book to everyone because of the valuable lesson you learn.

Khalin's Review

It is about a thirteen-year-old girl named Maleeka Madison. She feels uncomfortable because of her skin color. Then one a new teacher comes in and Maleeka sees her. She notices that the teacher is also different because she has a birthmark on her face. It is not like many birthmarks because it is white and it looks like a patch. The teacher's name is Miss Sauders. To Maleeka's surprise Miss Sauders likes Maleekas skin. Will Maleeka learn to also love herself for who she is?

Keeps me wanting more!

This book is undescriable, powerful, meaningful. I want more! NOt too young of readers should read this, some innoprprite language. Not bad. Its truley heartwarming. I recommend ot to annyone. Not confusing. Anyone and everyone will like it.

best book

THE SKIN I'M IN
BY:SHARON FLAKE
GENRE:FICTION


The Skin I'm In is about a girl name Maleeka who always gets teased on for her skin color and the clothes she wore. Maleeka is like any other girl, but people think because her skin color is er than theirs, they have the need to pick.

Maleeka's clothes aren't bad at all. Her mom just makes Maleeka her own clothes by hand. Maleeka's dad died when she was young, so the only thing her mom would do to keep her mind off of it is to sew. Maleeka doesn't want to say anything because she wants her mom to feel good about what she does.

The only thing about Maleeka's clothes that her mom makes her is that she never knows when a patch would ever fall off or a needle would ever poke her. A girl name Charlese brings her clothes to school but Charlese doesn't just give her clothes away for nothing unless she has something in return for her. She always wants Maleeka to do this and do that for her. Maleeka has to do it if she wants clothes from Charlese.

Charlese is one of the kids that also pick at Maleeka for being the color that she is, and the clothes that she wears. Only thing Maleeka ever does is ignore the kids who talk mean to her and about her. So she just walks away and does what she should do.

One day this new teacher, Miss Saunders, comes walking in their class. Only thing about Miss Saunders is she has two faces. One side is white and the other is pretty and brown. Everyone stares the whole class period! They are wondering if she knows how her face actually looks.

Only thing about it is Miss Saunders doesn't really care about how her face looks. She doesn't let anybody get in the way of her feelings. She thinks she looks fine. One day,however,, Maleeka over heard her talking to another teacher about how she used to get picked on all the time. So Miss Saunders and Maleeka are on the same page. Miss Saunders talks to Maleeka a lot after school because of an assignment that they are doing in class.

Maleeka just wants to be like everybody else and not get made fun of just because her skin is darker or her clothes are different . So one day Maleeka actually turns herself around and thinks I'm in a good mood now. I look cute, my hair's done and I'm not going to let anyone get in my way!