Maleeka feels bad for Charlese and slips out of the house. JuJu constantly throws parties, and the house is dirty and full of strangers. Charlese’s parents died two years ago, and her 25-year-old sister JuJu takes care of her. One weekend, Maleeka goes over to Charlese’s house. She looks at herself in the hand mirror that her dad gave her, cleans herself up, and walks confidently out of the bathroom. Then, Maleeka remembers that her dad, who died three years ago, said she had to see herself with her own eyes.

At school, however, the students make fun of her hair, and Maleeka cries in the bathroom. That weekend, Maleeka decides to get a haircut with her friend Sweets, and the women in the salon show Maleeka how to wear her hair with confidence. Miss Saunders and Maleeka’s mom devise a plan for Maleeka to work in the school office so that she stays out of trouble. A few days later, Maleeka gets into a fight at school when a girl attacks Maleeka for something Charlese did, and Maleeka takes the fall for it.

Miss Saunders praises Maleeka’s writing and lets her continue the assignment for extra credit. Maleeka writes about a girl named Akeelma, who is on a slave ship headed for America and whose situations frequently mirror Maleeka’s own. One day, Miss Saunders gives the students an assignment to write a journal from the perspective of a teenager in the 17th century. Charlese agreed and started bringing in new clothes for Maleeka to wear. Finally, she decided to offer to do Charlese’s homework if Charlese would let Maleeka hang out with her. Caleb left Maleeka and went to sit with his friends-and after this betrayal, people made fun of Maleeka even more. One day on the school bus, a boy named John-John led other students in a song about Maleeka being so Black that people couldn’t see her. When other students-including Charlese-saw the pair together, they made fun of Maleeka relentlessly. Last year, Maleeka stayed out of trouble until Caleb Assam, a cute, popular boy in school, told her he liked her, and they started going out. In class, Miss Saunders explains that she’s grown to love her face. A girl named Charlese makes fun of her, but Miss Saunders doesn’t let this bother her. When Miss Saunders, Maleeka’s new English teacher, arrives at the school, she has a white streak across her face-likely due to a skin condition called vitiligo. She is constantly made fun of for her Black skin her tall, thin body and the ill-fitting clothes that her mom makes for her. Maleeka Madison is a seventh grader at McClenton Middle School.

The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake