The Life I’m In by Sharon G. Flake – Book Review

Title: The Life I’m In Author: Sharon G. Flake Publisher: Scholastic Press Release Date: January 5, 2021

Charlese Jones is the ultimate antagonist in author Sharon Flake’s The Skin I’m In. She elicits little empathy from readers as she bullies and belittles everyone around her. Yet, decades later, fans of The Skin I’m In still wonder whatever happened to Char. Flake finally answers those questions with The Life I’m In. Char’s sister, JuJu, is fed up and sends her away to Alabama to stay with their grandparents. While Char meets a cast of colorful characters on the long bus ride, trouble follows on her heels. Before Char even leaves the bus station, she is faced with a number of difficult choices. The challenges that ensue push her into the dark and dangerous world of human trafficking. It will take Char’s immeasurable strength to find her way back to herself, to her family, and help others caught in this evil world come with her.

The Life I’m In is a challenging read. For those that come to the novel having read The Skin I’m In, Char’s character will push readers to tap into their empathy. In doing so, they will come to see her as strong, determined, and compassionate. Flake also challenges readers by immersing them in the sinister world of human trafficking. The content does not shy away from this dark, disturbing world, and it exposes how it traps young, unsuspecting girls. The content requires maturity and compassion. It requires readers to adopt a stance of understanding. It is also powerful. It requires us to put pity aside and ask what we can do to help. The journey to these changes the novel seeks to project will not be easy, but they are necessary. Flake demands it, and we must rise to meet the challenge. Instilling that compelling feeling is a testament to the book’s force.

Young adult readers will find The Life I’m In impossible to put down. Given the novel’s content, important discussions about society, human trafficking, the justice system, and more will abound. Yet, due to this content, it is equally important to ensure that readers are mature enough to engage with it. Just as The Skin I’m In pushed the envelope decades ago, The Life I’m In does so again. But this time, the novel squarely lands in the young adult genre.

Content Warning: The novel contains explicit content, including descriptions or insinuations of rape, drug use and addiction, assault, child abuse, murder, and kidnapping.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and publisher, Scholastic Press, for an eARC of this book.

Classroom Applications

• Book Club or Book Exchange – Share the novel with students that enjoy reading mysteries or realistic fiction books.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

• Human Trafficking

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with The Life I’m In. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

• The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)
• Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)

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