For author Sharon G. Flake her choice to write has influenced the lives of young people throughout the country. As change resonates throughout the country, Flake continues to empower young people with her own message of change.

Her first book, “The Skin I’m In,” was published in 1998 and went on to win the prestigious Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent from the American Library Association. And Publisher’s Weekly named her as an author to watch, along with “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling.  

SHARON FLAKE

When meeting children, Flake always asks them to tell her something they are good at. “It can be writing or tennis or playing the flute, I just want them to recognize that they are good at something,” she said.

“The Skin I’m In” follows a young African-American girl, Maleeka, who suffers every day from the taunts of her classmates. She forms a bond with a new teacher who has had to overcome obstacles in her life. Her confidence and attitude towards life teaches Maleeka to love the skin she’s in.

Flake said, “Who would have ever thought that a young girl, like Maleeka, with self-esteem issues, could gain the compassion of millions.”

Young people of all ethnic backgrounds have been inspired by the book because many feel it is their story.

“A librarian from Alabama e-mailed me about the Caucasian male students at her school,” said Flake. “As soon as one would check out and return a copy of “The Skin I’m In,” another boy would check it out. It turned out that those young men are like other boys and hundreds of thousands of girls in the U.S. and abroad.  They love the book.  They say it’s their story.”

(For more information visit www.sharonflake.com.)