Sharon G. Flake Books in Order

Thirteen-year-old Maleeka endures classmates' ridicule about her dark skin and homemade clothes. A new teacher whose visible birthmark also attracts attention challenges Maleeka to reconsider her own worth and learn to value the person she is.

Raspberry Hill sees money as protection against the insecurity she and her mother have experienced. Her determination to earn and hoard cash begins straining her friendships, forcing her to reconsider what security costs and what matters beyond her savings.

Determined never to be homeless again, Raspberry Hill equates money with safety. An attack on her mother and her father's return intensify her desperation, leading to choices that threaten her friendships and sense of self-respect.

Twelve stories follow teenagers falling in and out of love while searching for respect and self-worth. Flake explores misunderstandings, painful choices, and the difficulty of communicating with others without losing sight of what people need for themselves.

After his younger brother is killed, thirteen-year-old Mann struggles with grief and increasingly dangerous behavior. His father's harsh attempt to teach independence leaves Mann and a friend alone in the woods, forced to find their way home.

Self-styled queen of her street, Queen mocks new classmate Leroy's clothes and broken bicycle. Trying to expose his claim of being an African prince leads her toward an unexpected lesson about friendship and the assumptions she makes about others.

Through nine stories and fifteen poems, Flake presents the varied lives of adolescent African American boys. Their voices explore relationships, family secrets, illness, neighborhood life, and the pressure of choices that outsiders may misunderstand.

Autumn excels at wrestling but struggles to read, while academically gifted Adonis uses a wheelchair and keeps others at a distance. Their developing connection challenges both to reconsider weakness, independence, and what they can offer each other.

Living in her aunt's boardinghouse in the 1950s, curious ten-year-old Octobia May begins questioning the people around her. Her suspicions lead into a mystery involving identity, racial prejudice, and the possibility that one resident is a vampire.

Forced from her home, Char boards a bus in search of somewhere to go and becomes trapped by human traffickers. Her determination to help herself and other victims exposes the vulnerability and resilience beneath her earlier cruelty toward others.

Since a frightening night at a lighthouse, James Henry struggles to speak or venture outside. With his protective twin Hattie beside him and a rare blue moon approaching, he must confront what happened to recover his confidence.

Duck announces that Cat makes him sneeze, leaving the two friends with an unusual problem. As Cat tries one solution after another and the sneezing continues, their conversation raises the question of whether an allergy is really to blame.

Childhood friends John-John and Caleb navigate the expectations placed on young Black men while coping with family illness, divorce, school, and relationships. Their experiences test ideas about strength, kindness, and the men they hope to become.

Hattie Mae leaves rural North Carolina for an elite Philadelphia girls' school, where classmates dismiss her background and ambitions. Against the Great Migration's changing social landscape, she must defend her place and believe in the future she wants.

A contented cat becomes increasingly frustrated when a duck insists on meowing instead of quacking. Duck's playful impersonations and refusal to behave as expected turn their conversation into a funny disagreement about identity, imagination, and being allowed to pretend.