Charlese, 16, is an orphan who’s been living with her older sister Juju. But Juju is fed up with Char, who’s been kicked out of four schools for fighting and refuses to go to therapy; she decides to send Char to their grandparents. During the bus ride south, Char meets April, a young woman traveling with her baby. At April’s stop, April leaves her daughter with Char while meeting someone who’s offered her a job, but she doesn’t come back. Char has some money and finds a cheap motel room, excited to have a baby to love, naïve about the work involved and how long her funds will last. Enter Anthony, the man April was meeting. The “job” he offers Char is a front for trafficking, and soon Char is being repeatedly demeaned, abused, and raped. Her only consolation is that she got the baby to safety. Char bonds with some of the other girls Anthony is trafficking before she’s able to seize on a rare opportunity to escape. Back with Juju, traumatized Char won’t bathe, is terrified to leave the house, and feels she deserves everything that happened. Her renewed friendship with Maleeka (from The Skin I’m In ); Saturday “school” sessions with their former teacher, Miss Saunders; the support of Juju; and her willingness to finally get outside help at a trauma center all play a part in her slow recovery as this young Black woman begins a journey toward self-esteem and empowerment.
(Age 13 and older)

The powerful and long-anticipated companion to The Skin I'm In, Sharon Flake's bestselling modern classic, presents the unflinching story of Char, a young woman trapped in the underworld of human trafficking.

My feet are heavy as stones when I walk up the block wondering why I can't find my old self.

In The Skin I'm In, readers saw into the life of Maleeka Madison, a teen who suffered from the ridicule she received because of her dark skin color. For decades fans have wanted to know the fate of the bully who made Maleeka's life miserable, Char.

Now in Sharon Flake's latest and unflinching novel, The Life I'm In, we follow Charlese Jones, who, with her raw, blistering voice speaks the truths many girls face, offering insight to some of the causes and conditions that make a bully. Turned out of the only home she has known, Char boards a bus to nowhere where she is lured into the dangerous web of human trafficking. Much is revealed behind the complex system of men who take advantage of vulnerable teens in the underbelly of society. While Char might be frightened, she remains strong and determined to bring herself and her fellow victims out of the dark and back into the light, reminding us why compassion is a powerful cure to the ills of the world.

Sharon Flake's bestselling, Coretta Scott King Award-winning novel The Skin I'mIn was a game changer when it was first published more than twenty years ago. It redefined young adult literature by presenting characters, voices, and real-world experiences that had not been fully seen. Now Flake offers readers another timely and radical story of a girl on the brink and how her choices will lead her to either fall, or fly.