such a beautifully written and powerful story told. The relationship between Pumkin and Sophie (her aunt) was so beautiful and they both shone so brightly as individual characters. Pumkin had so much patience and determination to be able to pass her academic tests to move from Jamaica to France to live with Sophie, to try and live a better life away from the ghetto she was brought up in for her first 13 years. The home life between Pumkin, her mum and grandmother and aunt who all live together is so hard as her mum is always at work and usually takes out her stress on Pumkin. Despite this Pumkin always remains positive and appreciative and loves learning French and baking and going to school, until her grandma passes away and her aunt leaves for France and she is left to deal with her mum on her own whilst also trying to comprehend and grieve the massive changes at such an impressionable age with minimal support, and the only thing keeping her going is to remain focussed on passing her French exams so she can go and live with her aunt.
It was such a heartbreaking but beautifully written book exploring difficult family relationships and the determination through it all to aim for something better.

Thank you ever so much for the opportunity to read and review.

Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson is a heartbreaking AND a heartwarming story. It’s about Pumkin Patterson, a 13 year old girl living with her grandmother, Aunt Sophie and her mother. They live together in a tiny 2 bedroom house on the wrong street in Kingston, Jamaica.

Pumkin has a dream to follow her aunt to live in Paris and open a Patisserie. She just has to get the grades at the school paid for by her aunt. But things conspire against Pumkin, and she has to work harder to get what she wants. She works hard at school, and on top of that, she has to make money by baking and selling her frankly delicious sounding cakes.

I couldn’t help but cheer Pumkin along and hope that she would achieve what she wanted. She’s such a strong character, with some of that fiery teenage attitude (particularly towards her French teacher!).

I listened to this and read it in parts, too, which I’m glad I had the opportunity to do. The spoken Jamaican English was much easier to understand when I listened to it, spoken by Deja Bowens (the narrator). I think it’s important, when possible, to hear the rhythm and cadence of a language and/ or dialect to really understand it.

This was a really strong story with some serious themes - if it’s a YA book, I would be inclined to keep it to older teenagers. Pumkin does suffer some physical abuse at the hands of her mother.
I loved reading about Pumkin’s determination to leave a difficult life behind her - she’s an admirable, courageous character.

Aahh pumpkin what a precious soul! And slow burn. But definitely worth sticking with. A beautiful story of coming of age and family relationships!

A beautifully written coming of age book. Set in Jamaica, Pumpkin grows up without her mom love, but plenty of love from her grandma and auntie, until they are no longer there to look after her. She is on her own and plots her escape from a house where she is ignored, or worse, hated.

Loved it!

This book is lovely even though it deals with some very harrowing subjects. Quite a slow burner but worth sticking with. I loved the characyer Pumkin and found her endearing.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this book

This is a beautifully written book about a character named Pumpkin 🎃 but at the same time you feel for this girl and the environment she lives in, pumpkins mother doesn't want her and the one person who does (her auntie) movies to France and says she is going to bring her over as soon as she can. Pumpkin is determined to have a better life with her aunt she will do whatever it takes to achieve it and we see a strong, determined and courageous young girl do what she can to chase her dreams.

This book tugs at the heartstrings and has you routing for her from the first page.

Loved the narrative style of this book. It took me a while to get into and I ended up reading it very sporadically. While it hasn’t stayed with me since I finished it, I would definitely buy books by this author in the future

Sweetness in the Skin offers a poignant exploration of familial love, encompassing both biological family and chosen connections. Robinson tackles colorism and class divisions with a raw, heartbreaking honesty, yet infuses the narrative with joy. The vivid portrayal of Jamaica—through its sights, sounds, and especially its tastes—immersed me in Pumkin’s world, evoking a deep sense of nostalgia for my own journey to my fatherland and a yearning to return.

Ishi Robinson's "Sweetness in the Skin" is a powerful and beautifully written novel that delves into themes of identity, heritage, and the deep-rooted connections that tie us to our past. Set against the backdrop of a vibrant and culturally rich community, Robinson's narrative is rich with sensory details and emotional depth, exploring the lives of characters who navigate their relationships and personal histories with both resilience and grace.

Robinson's prose is lyrical and evocative, perfectly capturing the nuances of her characters' experiences and the complexities of their emotions. "Sweetness in the Skin" is a poignant and insightful read, offering a compelling look at the ways in which culture, family, and personal history shape our identities and influence our lives. This novel is ideal for readers who appreciate stories that are as thought-provoking as they are touching.

Sweetness in the Skin follows the life of Akisha, known as Pumkin. She lives in Jamaica with her grandmother, mother and aunt. Although her mother isn’t sympathetic to the cause, her grandmother and aunt are on a mission to help Pumkin ‘better’ herself, and send her to a private school. Life sends Pumkin the kind of challenges that could break her, but Pumkin proves herself to be resilient. She is a resourceful child, putting her baking talent and skills to good use to help fund her goals. Whilst some people seem set on hampering her efforts, Pumkin finds support, and the reader is really rooting for her.
I really enjoy books set in the Caribbean, despite never having visiting, and would highly recommend Sweetness in the Skin.

What an absolutely lovely story - Ishi Robinson has done a brilliant job of introducing us to Pumkin and her world, in a way that is completely believable.

Pumkin lives with her mum, grandma and aunt in a small house in Jamaica, with big dreams of moving to France with her aunt. We learn some of her family's history to understand where they are now and follow Pumkin's journey as she pursues the french dream no matter what.

The descriptions are really evocative, I felt I could almost smell the spices, taste the brown sugar and coconut in her home bakes that sell out everywhere!

This is a story of growing up and realising your own worth, learning to find your way and decide what it is you want - captured in a very realistic way. Highly recommend this is a great read.

a really compelling novel that felt very immersive and poignant, a lot to like, the structure could have been improved but overall this was a gem.

This is a wonderful debut which revolves around a teenage girl Pumkin who has dreams of starting a life in Paris with her aunt and opening a bakery, she’s a very turmoil relationship with her own mother who resents her and doesn’t seem to get the relationship between Pumkin and her aunt it’s a brilliant coming of age story it will stay with me one I’ll definitely return back to and also ordered myself a physical copy thanks for the early arc read it was a great one

A lovely coming of age story about a girl called Pumkin whose mother isn't the nicest person ! She doesn't like Pumkin and is more annoyed that her daughter loves her Aunt more than her mother. Her Aunt Sophie adores her but has moved from Jamaica to France and is paying for Pumkins' tuition in order for her to sit a french exam and come out to be with her. But her mother finds lots of ways to stop her daughter from going - its heart-breaking in places and ultimately uplifting. I loved Pumkin and hearing about her life and all the sweet treats ! Gorgeous read

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is a sweet little book that packs a big punch. Robinson doesn't shy away from dealing with issues such as child abuse, domestic violence and racism, but the overall story is so full of hope and joy that you can't help but enjoy the read. Pumkin is a great central character and the supporting characters are also very well drawn and realistic. I also loved the ending.

Very well, easy to follow story, engaging, thoughtful, fun with great characters. I really enjoyed this book, it had me hooked and needing to find how it ends. A recommended read.

What a wonderful debut novel and thank you for introducing me to Pumkin, I absolutely adored her. This is such a heartwarming read, with some heartbreak but also lots of joy and happiness. And the best part was the descriptions of the Jamaican recipes - I really want the coconut drops they sound divine. Definitely a book I’m going to recommend, thank you Michael Joseph for the early reading copy, it was such a pleasure to read and Pumkin is a heroine I won’t forget..

Thirteen year old Pumpkin adores her Auntie Sophie, who would do anything for her. Sophie dreams of leaving Jamaica for a better life in France and she wants to have Pumkin with her. However, alone with her mother in Jamaica, Pumkin has to draw on all her inner strength and resourcefulness to strive towards joining her auntie as obstacles seem to pile up in front of her. A coming of age story that is about finding your sense of self and being happy with who you are, this is a lovely story. At times heartbreaking but also packed with characters who show what human kindness and love really looks like, Pumkin’s story has you rooting for her throughout.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for an arc in exchange for a review.

Pumkin lives in a small house half way between the near-slums and the good areas in Kingston, Jamaica, able to go to a good school because her Aunt Sophie pays her school fees, but feeling like she has to hide that she lives in a tiny house with her grandmother, her mother who wants little to do with her and resents Sophie and her sophisticated aunt who's also teaching her ways of hiding who you are, working at the French embassy and dreaming of moving to France.

When Sophie gets her dream, she promised to send for Pumkin, but Pumkin's mum turns on her and refuses to let her take the exam she needs, no good at standing up for her when things go wrong at school. But Pumkin has a secret weapon: two, actually - her ability to make friends and her ability to bake. Surrounded by found family and adding people to it, notably a rather scary teacher at a French language school she needs to attend to get her exam, she bakes her way to having the requisite savings and gathers folk around her who can help her when the going gets tough. Will she make it to France, and does she need to?

I was worried this was going to be a simple bootstraps out of shameful poverty story - but it's not, she sees the value in her roots, laughs at a posh friend who can't cope visiting her and is not ashamed of herself - or that she'd find a White boyfriend to help her - again, no, just a variety of different Jamaican friends, including older women and a lovely guy who's just a lovely guy and nothing else. There's an underlying strong message about colourism and class, Pumkin's mum having darker skin than Aunt Sophie and thus being less favoured, and class distinctions being harsh.

With some borderline distressing scenes (nothing as bad as in "The Girl with the Louding Voice") this was on the whole a lovely, positive read which was also realistic in the hard work Pumkin put in and the sometimes strained relationships with her friends and family.

I'll be reviewing this on my blog on 26 April here: https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2024/04/26/book-review-ishi-robinson-sweetness-in-the-skin/

Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson

In 1990s Jamaica, 13-year old Pumkin lives with her neglectful and abusive mother but longs to move to France to join her beloved Aunt Sophie. To do so she must pass a French exam, but there are numerous barriers in her way, financial and familial, all of which Pumkin tries to overcome with her gift for baking and a group of wonderful supporters.

What a FABULOUS book, I absolutely devoured it! I loved the way the author brought Jamaica and Pumkin's community to life - wonderful! And Pumkin's challenges were dealt with in a sensitive way but also humorous, a real skill. This book deserves to be so successful and I'm sure everyone will fall in love with Pumkin. Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a proof of this book.