The skin I'm in

Blurb

The Skin I'm In is a realistic fiction novel written by Sharon G. Flake. It was published by Hyperion Books on January 3, 2000. It depicts the story of seventh grader Maleeka Madison who has low self-esteem because of her dark skin color. Thirteen-year-old Maleeka Madison is tall, skinny, and dark-skinned. That's a problem for her, because it's such a problem for everyone else at school, it seems. To make her life easier, Maleeka befriends the toughest girl in school. Only bullies force you to pay more than you’d like, so life for Maleeka just gets harder, until she learns to stand up for herself and love the skin she's in.
~~Summary~~ Bullying in school can be a terrible experience, and yet sometimes it can be quite hard to see the reason for the bullying. Why, for instance, would a black boy tease a black girl about being black?
"John-John McIntyre is the smallest seventh grader in the world. Even fifth graders can see over his head. Sometimes I have a hard time believing he and me are both thirteen. He's my color, but since second grade he's been teasing me about being too black. At first, there doesn't seem to be a reason why John-John might be teasing Maleeka.