A brave, beautifully told story of an Afro-American teen dealing with colourism, racism and bullying - but given hope by the power of an inspirational and kind teacher. Maleeka suffers every day from the taunts of the other kids in her class. If they're not getting at her about her homemade clothes or her good grades, it's about her dark, black skin. When a new teacher, whose face is blotched with a startling white patch, starts at their school, Maleeka can see there is bound to be trouble for her too. But the new teacher's attitude surprises Maleeka. Miss Saunders loves the skin she's in. Can Maleeka learn to do the same? Features a new introduction by New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds. A powerful, unflinching and hopeful story that redefined young adult literature by presenting characters, voices, and real world experiences that had not been fully seen before See Sharon G. Flake's The Life I'm in if you liked this!

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book features in the following series: Roller Coasters, Thorndike Young Adult .

There are 192 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2021 by Scholastic .

Sharon Flake was bom in Philadelphia, but has lived in Pittsburgh with her daughter, for many years. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in English. For several years she was a youth counselor for a foster care agency, after which she spent 18 years working at the University of Pittsburgh in public relations. She has written numerous articles for national publications. Prior to having her first book published, she wrote for approximately 15 years.