The
Skin I’m In
by Jenelle
AuthorHouse
In her riveting new novel, The Skin I’m In, Jenelle uses
fictional characters to highlight an issue within the black
community: skin tone.
Asia Washington is a dark-skinned black girl growing up in
Brooklyn, N.Y. When she graduates high school, she moves in with
her aunt, Lonnie, who is more like a sister to her because of
their proximity in age. Trying to escape her father’s strict
rules, Asia settles in with Lonnie and begins to make a life for
herself.
When Asia meets jazz musician Arthur Greer, she falls in love
instantly and the couple move in together after a year of
dating. After several months, Asia becomes pregnant. She’s
ecstatic and fervently hopes for a son. Unfortunately, she has a
daughter and is not pleased – to say the least. Jenelle writes:
The problem was that Asia didn’t particularly care for little
girls. She didn’t hate them, she just couldn’t relate to them.
When the doctor told her that she’d given birth to a beautiful
seven pound two ounce baby girl, Asia looked as if she’d just
been told she had the plague. And when she first held her,
looking down at this beautiful little girl with the light skin
and the curly black hair, Asia cried for hours. As a matter of
fact she cried for damn near two weeks after she came home from
the hospital.
Naming the little girl Imani, Asia assumes that the child’s
light skin will darken as she grows older. Much to her dismay,
this never happens and over time Asia pays less and less
attention to her beautiful daughter, harboring a strong
resentment over her light skin. Every time she looks at Imani,
all Asia can see is a reminder of all the people who had picked
on her and harassed her for her dark skin, particularly in high
school.
The Skin I’m In follows Asia, Imani and Lonnie throughout the
years. Jenelle weaves the details of their lives with a social
commentary on racial disparities within the black community.
Readers will identify with a relatable cast of supporting
characters and find themselves drawn in by their stories. Follow
them as they learn to love themselves for who they are in the
pages of The Skin I’m In.
Jenelle is the youngest of five children and was born and raised
in Brooklyn, N.Y. In 1988, she relocated to Silver Spring, Md.,
where she still resides today. Jenelle works as an accounts
payable assistant for a major newspaper. The Skin I’m In is her
first book, and she is currently at work on Sylvia’s Boys, to be
released in summer 2010. And Words And Music, to be released in
spring of 2011.
List Price: $20.49
