This was a beautiful story about learning to fit in, family, friendship and belonging. I found the class and race differences in 1990s Jamaica fascinating. Its not something I've ever really thought about.

I loved Pumkins determination to get what she wanted. Whatever obstacles were in her way she found a way around them. I'd like to be more like her!

It took me a while to get used to the writing style, but I soon found it quite natural. I liked the way it made me read different people's accents so the differences in their speech patterns and accents was clear.

I thought this was a fantastic story over all and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

This book is thoroughly charming, and so is its main character Pumkin Patterson. She has had all the knocks that you can imagine in her thirteen years but she still has a deep belief that things will be ok and that there is good in people. This core value helps her to stay focused on her goal of raising enough money to take the exam that will enable her to join her aunt (more of a mother than her actual mother) in France, this having been the end goad for as long as Pumkin can remember.
The story shows that family, both blood and acquired, comes in many different shapes and that the only way to keep moving forward is to constantly accept and adapt...something that Pumkin does naturally, probably learned through necessity whilst living in a dysfunctional struggling family. There were so many moments when I thought that everything had fallen apart, only for an ally to appear or for a new idea to take root - it was so uplifting to see the sheer resilience and determination.
One of the key themes throughout the book is baking and the joy in feeding others and seeing their happiness for your creations. The descriptions of the local delicacies that Pumkin makes were totally mouth-watering and told so lovingly that it seemed that they must hold a nostalgic place in Ishi Robinson's heart.
Although not financially wealthy, the book showed that wealth can be measured in many ways and that the conventional way upwards and onwards may not actually be what your heart needs to be full. This story left me feeling energised and positive, it's as colourful and joyful as the cover that holds it.

This was a lovely coming of age story about Akisha, know as Pumkin by everyone and her life growing up in Jamaica, living with her grandmother, mother and aunt. Pumpkin has always had a dream of moving to Paris with her Aunt Sophie. After her Aunt moves to France and her grandmother passing away, we see Pumkin having to live with her uninterested at best, neglectful at worst mother. Her mother doesn’t actually want or have an awful lot to do with Pumkin but doesn’t want her sister Sophie to have her.

Pumkin has to pay for and pass a French exam to realise her dream but her mother won’t agree to it. What follows is the story of Pumkin’s attempts to raise the money to pay for the exam without her mother knowing.

The story definitely kept me interested although I confess to finding the phonetic description of the Jamaican speech really quite difficult at times. I really enjoyed reading this book as the author has a wonderfully descriptive way of writing.

A wonderful debut novel about a 13 year old girl from Jamaica who has her own hopes and dreams of living a life elsewhere. A brilliant cast of characters which kept me turning the pages until the end. A great absorbing read not to be missed.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

It's a story about coming of age, discovering what we really want and made me travel to a different culture and meet fascinating characters.
These women are strong willed, not always nice but I loved them.
The story is thought provoking even if the tone is light. Good storytelling.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Really enjoyed the story of Pumpkin loved the descriptions of Jamaica and the characters I really felt for pumpkin.
This is a story you get really involved with and fast paced.
Thanks to NetGalley for a ARC for a honest review.

I felt such an immediate love for Pumkin, she's struggling in a house that's too small, caught in a complex power struggle between her grandmother, her mum and her aunt, with her big heart always bearing the brunt of the adults' bitterness, prejudices, and aspirations around her. Pumkins innovative and entrepreneurial spirit was so captivating, the grit to survive and find a way. I loved how along her journey of losing so much, she gained such fantastic friends, guardians and her own identity.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

Pumpkin is 13, lives in Jamaica in the poor part of town; her dream is to move to France with her aunt and open a bakery there. But reality gets in the way: an absent father, a hard and selfish mother and no money leave her struggling to find a way to make her dream come true. Wonderful debut novel, funny and touching, with a great protagonist.

Pumkin Patterson is a young girl who longs to leave her home in Jamaica far behind and spread her wings in Paris. Her beloved aunt has moved there through her work with the French Embassy and Pumkin is desperate to join her. She is a young girl who is apparently unwanted and unloved by her mother, and who leads a fairly sad existence in a very poor neighbourhood. This is a beautifully written story about a child and her journey into adulthood and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The author paints a really vivid picture of life for this amazing and strong character, and indeed of her whole family. Great book!

Huge thanks to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, via NetGalley. Sweetness in the Skin is a great read.

Sweetness in the Skin is a wonderful debut which revolves around a teenage girl, Pumkin, who dreams of moving to Paris and starting a bakery with her Aunt Sophie.
When Sophie moves to France for work, Pumkin bakes a mouth watering range of puddings and cakes to raise money for her French exam and her ticket to France to join her.
She’s one really determined and resilient young lady who is destined to overcome her dysfunctional family and have a better life!!!
A great read!

I really enjoyed this book and the young narrator voice of Pumpkin. Very refreshing and different to other books I have read before. We are in Jamaica with innocent Pumpkin who finds herself alone when her Grandmother passes away and aunt Sophie who she is closest to, moves to France. We navigate this lonely time with her as she tries to continue with her dream of passing her French test and joining her Aunt. I loved the descriptions of the island , I could almost taste and smells the food and cake described! I loved the message of hope and resilience and was rooting for Pumpkin the whole time. I enjoyed the writing and flow especially the patois side, very authentic. I also enjoyed the characters and relationships especially the teacher, Boots and her schoolfriends. I will be recommending and looking for more from this author to read!

I have not enjoyed a book as much as this for a VERY long time! This has everything for me that I want from a book. I was transported to another country (Jamaica), immersed in a different culture, loved and empathised with the main character, and found the story to be perfectly paced. I was drawn into this book from the first page and couldn’t wait to see how Pumkin’s story unfolded. The author will have a huge reaction to this book - it is going to be very well received and her mum will no longer be the sole member of her fan club!. I loved this story and look forward to many more novels from his extremely talented author. Just wonderful!

This book ticked a lot of boxes for the perfect read for me. It centres around Pumpkin and her dreams in life to follow her Auntie to France to escape her rotten life. I just loved her drive to achieve her goals.

Set in Jamaica, she lives on the poor side with her unloving, uncaring, and often abusive mother. I ended up reading it in one sitting because I needed to know the ending. It's such a sweet story that you can't help but root for her.

The only downside to this book is that a lot of the dialogue was written as it's spoken. Unfortunately, I didn't understand a lot of it, so I didn't always know what was being said. Luckily, the storyline had me hooked, but I sometimes felt as if I might have missed something important. It felt frustrating.

Ishi Robinson’s uses a deceptively light touch to tell the story of Pumkin’s journey to self-knowledge with a brilliantly drawn array of characters around her. This was a pacy read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

A wonderful debut novel by Ishi Robinson! Heart-warming, sad, funny and a truly enjoyable read.

The book follows the life of Pumkin, a young, fiercely-determined and strong girl who experiences many challenges in her young life. She has a dream and a plan. It doesn't work out exactly as she plans or thought she wanted, but I was rooting for Pumkin along the way.

This is the first novel I've read that is set in Jamaica. The description of the setting, characters and food brought it all to life. Ishi Robinson uses local dialects in the speech. It took me a few chapters to get to used to, but once I did it helped to bring the story alive.

I look forward to reading more of Ishi Robinson's books in the future.

11-year-old Pumkin lives in Kingston, Jamaica, with her grandmother, mother and aunt. Although she knows who her father is, he has never been a part of her life.
Their small house in one of the less desirable suburbs is run by her grandmother, and Pumkin is run by her aunt. Pumkin and her mother have a difficult relationship.
Pumkin is desperate to improve her situation in life, and her Aunt Sophie is keen to help her. They plan to move to France, so Pumkin is learning French. But then she gets thrown out of French class as school...
But Pumkin is nothing if not resourceful.
An enjoyable read.

Sweetness in the Skin is a novel that’s as sweet as its title. Pumkin is growing up in poverty in Jamaica and living with her abusive mother, her no-nonsense grandmother and her doting but driven aunt. It has always been her aunt’s dream to move to France for a better life and PumkIn inherits her dream and they plan to go together someday. When Pumkin’s aunt finally gets the opportunity to go, Pumkin is left alone to try to raise the money to follow her aunt: This is the story of her struggles to do so and what she discovers about herself along the way.

As I say, this is a very sweet read. It reminds me a lot of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, funnily enough. The reader roots for Pumkin in the same way they do the character of Matilda, and actually there are many other similarities. This is of course not written for children, however!

It’s a charming, heartwarming read that I’m sure many people will enjoy!

This. Was. Amazing!

I was hooked from the very first page.

The descriptions were fantastic and I really thought I was in JA eating those coconut drops and jerk pork.

What a debut from Ishi, she has set the bar incredibly high!