Bullying and Insecurity
The Skin I’m In follows protagonist Maleeka Madison, a Black seventh grader at McClenton Middle School. Over Maleeka’s school year, other students bully her for her very dark skin; her tall, thin body; and her unflattering clothes. Yet while the bullies at school victimize Maleeka because of her insecurities, their behavior is motivated by their own anxieties. Students who are cruel to Maleeka, like Charlese Jones and John-John McIntyre, are often insecure about…
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Self-Esteem, Support, and Friendship
Seventh-grader Maleeka Madison struggles to find friends at her new school, and people often make fun of her for her dark skin and clothes. Even when she does find girls like Charlese to hang out with, they often belittle her. But as the year progresses, Maleeka begins to recognize the people in her life who genuinely want to support her, like her peers Caleb and Sweets or her English teacher, Miss Saunders. At the…
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Writing and Self-Expression
While Maleeka Madison learns to become more confident at school, her new English teacher, Miss Saunders, assigns a writing project in which Maleeka is supposed to write from the perspective of a girl living in the 17th century. Knowing that she would have likely been a slave back then because she’s Black, Maleeka writes the diary from the perspective of a slave girl named Akeelma. As she sees the world through Akeelma’s eyes…
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The Importance of Role Models
As Maleeka and her peers progress through the seventh grade, several adults—particularly Miss Saunders, the new English teacher; Maleeka’s mom; and Charlese’s older sister, JuJu—guide them. While all three of these women want to see the children in their lives succeed, they sometimes fail to be good role models. Miss Saunders’s character highlight how kids need positive role models in their lives who will model good behavior and encourage kids to…
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