Flake, S. (1998). The skin I'm in. New York: Jump
at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children.
The
Skin I’m In is a narrative written from the perspective of
Maleeka, a thirteen year old with very low self-esteem. She attends an urban,
rough middle school where most of the students are more concerned with smoking
in the bathrooms and partying than with school work. Maleeka is dragged down by
a so-called “friend” named Char. Maleeka is so embarrassed by her dark skin and
mangy clothes (sewn together by her mother) she allows Char to treat her
terribly. Maleeka does her homework and follows Char in all of her schemes,
just so she will loan her some decent looking clothes to wear. Everyone in
school bullies Maleeka, especially a boy named John-John, who has made up a
jingle about how black Maleeka’s skin is. Things start to change when a new
teacher, Miss. Saunders, a former corporate business woman, begins teaching
Maleeka’s English class. Miss. Saunders
has a large white birthmark on her face, but has not let that stop her from
being successful. She see Maleeka’s potential, and tries to bring her under
wing, but Maleeka is resistant from the beginning. She continues focusing on
being accepted by her peers, following Char in the hopes she’ll throw her a
bone, and getting into trouble. Finally, at the very end of the book, Maleeka
gets into much more trouble than she ever anticipated. She finally stands up
for herself against Char and begins to take her education and herself more
seriously.
Honestly,
I had mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed seeing the world through
Maleeka’s eyes, I almost felt as if I were in her shoes. However, this book
really lacked much of a plot. Flake spent the first three-fourths of the book
describing characters and several little events that weren’t really tied
together. There was no real build up, or anything to keep you reading. Finally,
there was somewhat of a climax when
Maleeka gets blamed for Char’s grand idea, yet again, and she finally stands up
for herself. But suddenly, the book is over. It was just somewhat,
disappointing.
There
was definitely a lot of conflict in this book. Maleeka was conflicting with
herself (person-against-self) as
well as with her peers (person-against-person),
especially Char. Maleeka is constantly feeling down on herself and that she is
not good enough to do anything. Even when her new teacher, Ms. Saunders, tries
to give her some confidence in what a wonderful writer she is, Maleeka is too
insecure to accept it. Some of the words
used in this book are different than in traditional literature. However, I
found them very appropriate for the context. I have spent over three years
working with low-income, urban children and I could almost hear some of the
things Maleeka and her peers say coming out of the mouth of my students. For
example, on page 27 when Desda asks Maleeka why she doesn’t speak proper
English she answers, “Don’t nobody talk like that for real, only people in old movies
and books.” This really hit home for me, because many of my students really
don’t hear anyone speak proper English. This makes it even more important for
me to concentrate on what I say and how I say things because it makes such an
impact.
Nice
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