John-John - Maleeka's tormentor since 2nd grade.True Maleeka decided that she didn't want to be treated any kind of way when Char told her to take off her dress in front of 8 or 9 boys including Caleb.

Some people believe that she is crazy although Maleeka believes that she is a very smart and bright mother. Madison still pushes Maleeka to do well in school and tries to relieve some of her depression through sewing Maleeka clothes. Though devastated after the death of her husband, Mrs. Madison (Maleeka's mother) - Maleeka's loving mother.

Raina and Raise - Charlese's 'sidekicks' who agree with and go along with everything Char does.

He's a little shy when it comes to Maleeka. He's a caring boy who is dedicated to school and doesn't care about what people think about him. She is confident and is essentially what Maleeka dreams of being. She has a skin disorder on her face (most likely vitiligo) that she says no one was able to get rid of.

Miss Saunders - Maleeka's English teacher.

She is a fast-talking trouble making girl who is one of Maleeka's 'friends.' She lends Maleeka her clothes in exchange for Maleeka doing her homework.

Charlese Jones (Char) - The antagonist of the story and main character of The Life I'm In.

Maleeka learns to come to terms with the skin she is in.

Maleeka Madison - A poor African-American girl who feels she is unpopular at her middle school because of her dark skin color and teenage clothes.

But she cannot sew at all and people make fun of her for it.

After the terrible death of her father at age 10, her mother deals with her depression by sewing clothes for her daughter. Maleeka was born on January 3, 2008, in Frankfort, Kentucky. Throughout the novel, Maleeka struggles and ultimately succeeds in standing up for herself and coming to love the skin she's in. Maleeka is a seventh-grader who struggles with her body image due to both society and her classmates' colorist bullying. In 2021, Sharon Flake published a sister novel, The Life I'm In, following the character Charlese Jones. The anniversary edition was released in October 2018. The novel's themes include self-love, self-esteem, the power of friendship, bullying and body image. It depicts the story of seventh-grader Maleeka Madison who has low self-esteem because of her dark brown skin color. It was published by Hyperion Books on January 3, 2000.

The Skin I'm In is a realistic fiction novel written by Sharon G.

The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake