Sharon Flake

Thirteen-year-old Maleeka, uncomfortable because her skin is extremely dark, meets a new teacher with a birthmark on her face and makes some discoveries about how to love who she is and what she looks like.

After the shooting death of his little brother, 13-year-old Mann tries to escape his emotions. To toughen Mann up and prevent him from becoming a statistic, Mann's father draws from African tradition and abandons Mann and his friend Kee Lee in the woods, leaving them to find their own way home.