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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Maleeka Madison is always getting teased about the way she looks. "If it ain't about my color, it's my clothes." Maleeka can do something about the handsewn clothes she finds embarrassing. As long as she stays on classmate Charlese's good side, Char loans her fashionable outfits that Maleeka changes into each morning at school. But there's not much she can do about the color of her skin. No one has a problem with Maleeka being Black; after all, most of her classmates are Black, too. But plenty of them have a problem with Maleeka being too black. "They don't say nothing about the fact that I'm a math whiz, and can outdo ninth graders when it comes to figuring numbers. Or that I got a good memory and never forget a single, solitary thing I read. They only see what they see, and they don't seem to like what they see much." Maleeka knows she deserves to be treated better, but there is a huge gap between knowing she deserves more respect and liking herself enough to demand it. A new teacher at her school, Miss Saunders, tries to help Maleeka see how beautiful she is both inside and out, but Maleeka is resistant to her efforts. In her opinion, Miss Saunders is butting into things that aren't her business, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the disfiguring birthmark on the teacher's own face. A stunning and courageous debut novel from Sharon G. Flake moves swiftly with dialogue finely tuned to the voices of contemporary African American teens as it explores issues of self-respect and self-esteem through the life of a creative and talented young woman who is learning to see herself in new ways. Winner, 1998 CCBC Coretta Scott King Award Discussion: Author. (Age 13-16)

CCBC Choices 1998 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 1998. Used with permission.

From Horn Book

January 1, 1999
Thirteen-year-old African-American Maleeka suffers from acute low self-esteem, stemming from the taunts she receives mainly because of her dark complexion. Into her life walks Miss Saunders, a teacher whose rare skin condition also sets her apart. Miss Saunders is almost too good to be true, but the reader slowly sees her vulnerability. This first novel is fast-paced and realistic.

(Copyright 1999 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From School Library Journal

November 1, 1998
Gr 6-8-Seventh-grader Maleeka Madison is miserable when a new teacher comes to her depressed inner-city school. Miss Saunders evidently is rich, self-assured in spite of the white birthmark across her black skin, and prone to getting into kids' faces about both their behavior and their academic potential. Black and bright, Maleeka is so swamped by her immediate problems that Miss Saunders's attentions nearly capsize her stability. The girl's mother has just emerged from a two-year period of intense mourning for her dead husband, during which time her daughter has provided her with physical and moral support with no adult assistance. At school, Maleeka endures mean-spirited teasing about the darkness of her skin and her unstylish clothing. She seeks solace in writing an extended creative piece, at Miss Saunders's instigation, and also in the company of a powerful clique of nasty girls. Told in Maleeka's voice, this first novel bristles with attitude that is both genuine and alarming. The young teen understands too well that her brains aren't as valuable as the social standing that she doesn't have. In the end, she is able to respond positively to Miss Saunders; she also becomes socially anointed through the affections of the most popular boy in the school. This message rings true in spite of the fact that Maleeka's salvation isn't exactly politically correct. Young teens will appreciate Flake's authenticity and perhaps realize how to learn from Maleeka's struggle for security and self-assurance.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA

From Booklist

September 1, 1998
%% This is a multi-book review. SEE the title "Jungle Dogs" for next imprint and review text. %% ((Reviewed September 1, 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)

From AudioFile Magazine

Locker doors slam, backpacks hit the floor, and flirtations and insults are traded in echoing public middle school hallways. While these background sounds are not actually present in this superb recording, it's easy to imagine the inner city setting through the characterizations created by narrator Sisi Aisha Johnson. The story focuses on the relationship between 12-year-old Maleeka Madison, whose dark skin and secondhand clothes draw much teasing and torment, and her English teacher, Miss Saunders, whose disfigurement brings its own negative attention from students. Johnson goes beyond delivering dialogue. She gets beneath the skin of Flake's complicated characters. M.M.O. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine