The powerful and long-anticipated companion to The Skin I'm In,  young adult author Sharon Flake's bestselling, modern classic, presents the unflinching story of Char, a young woman trapped in the underworld of human trafficking. Sharon Flake will be joined in conversation by Andrea Davis Pinkney for a live discussion and audience Q&A. Though Sharon Flake and Andrea Davis Pinkney both specialize in the 'young adult' genre, their work appeals to a wide range of readers.

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.

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

Sharon G. Flake exploded onto the literary scene with her novel The Skin I'm In, in 1998, and was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start. Since then she has become a multiple Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award winner and many of her novels have received ALA Notable and Best Books for Young Adults citations from the American Library Association. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sharongflake.com.

Andrea Davis Pinkney has made an outstanding contribution to the field of children's literature. Pinkney has published more than seventy children's books that have received the highest awards and accolades, including Caldecott Honors, Coretta Scott King Honors, NAACP Image Award nominations, and the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award, to name a few.  andreadavispinkney.com

“Flake follows her groundbreaking novel The Skin I’m In (1998) with a sequel for these times…A vivid and important depiction of the struggles of too many teens.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“[A] difficult yet necessary sequel.”—Booklist, starred review

Shaken to the core – that’s how you’ll feel when you enter Char’s world in Sharon Flake’s powerful new novel. Char, Maleeka’s bully from The Skin I’m In makes one bad choice after another when she’s sent off on a Greyhound bus to live with her grandparents. She kicks those who are close to her on her spiraling downward journey. Rock bottom, Char finds her life not her own. When Char is caught up in the dark world of human trafficking you will be wrapped up in her inner struggles and vulnerability. This story is a blueprint for survival – literature as a path for readers to find their voice and feel proud of who they are. It’s taken twenty-one years to find Charlese’s truth. A wait well worth it. -Jen Kraar (City of Asylum bookseller)

Sharon Flake: 'The Life I'm In' book Release & Reading