Book Summary: The Skin I'm In

The Skin I’m In

The Skin I’m In, by Sharon Flake, tells a tale of a young, seventh grade girl with very black skin. The girl, Maleeka, is often taunted by her fellow students for her awkwardness, poorly handcrafted clothing, and dark skin. Maleeka has become friends with Charlese (Char), one of the most popular girls in school, because she does her homework in return for Char sticking up for her. On a positive note, Char lends Maleeka clothing, but often treats her very poorly, and gets her in trouble. Maleeka’s grades also begin to slip, the more she hangs out with Char.
A new teacher, Ms. Saunders, arrives to teach English in the school. Immediately, Maleeka was afraid to be close with the teacher because she has a large, white patch on her face, which Maleeka felt would bring negative attention to her. Maleeka feels that if she befriends the teacher, she too will be made fun of, and she is already made fun of heavily for her black skin, although she sees Ms. Saunders as someone who is worse off than herself. Ms. Saunders is proud of her skin, despite the taunts from the other students, much to Maleeka’s surprise. She talked about how she used to be insecure, but learned to love herself. Ms. Saunders encouraged Maleeka to write a journal/diary, and eventually, she wins a writing contest.
One day, as a result of Maleeka’s growing independence, Ms. Saunders upset Char, so Char takes Maleeka to Ms. Saunder’s classroom, and sets the room on fire, leaving Maleeka there to take the blame for the act. Because Maleeka is insecure, she originally takes the blame for the arson; however, once she learns to accept herself gradually, she turns Char in. She learns from Ms. Saunders to stand up for herself and be secure about herself and her life (and the skin she’s in), which leads to her eventually standing up for herself about the arson.
This book was very inspiring, because it shows that when you decide that you want to excel in life and appreciate yourself for who you are, nothing and no one can stop you. Often times, school aged kids are harassed by other kids for being different, and many of these students have relationships like Char and Maleeka’s. Sometimes, it takes someone who is viewed as worse off, to display self-esteem and confidence about themselves, for you to see that you can choose to overcome any insecurity.
After reading the book, I was interested in the background and inspiration for the subject matter. I researched the author, Sharon Flake, and learned that she was inspired to write this book because she has a “beautiful dark-skinned daughter.” She began to tell her daughter about stories of heroic, incredible dark skinned women who performed amazing tasks, to build her self-esteem from early childhood. Sharon Flake acknowledged that, even within the African-American community, one can be picked apart for being dark skinned, and she wanted to deal with the issue of racism, even within her own community. The book was written to help people to learn to appreciate themselves, despite what other people say. Overall, I feel that her goal was accomplished. The Skin I’m In was a well written, effective teaching tool for self respect and appreciation.