Sweetness in the Skin

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Sweetness in the Skin

By: Ishi Robinson

Narrated by: Deja Bowens

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 OCM BOCAS PRIZE FOR CARIBBEAN LITERATURE

Pumkin Patterson dreams of a life beyond her Jamaican hometown. But what we dream of and where we belong aren’t always the same thing…

Eleven-year-old Pumpin knows a few things:

That her mother has never loved her
That Aunt Sophie does
That baking makes everything better
And France is a long way from her Jamaican home

What Pumkin doesn’t know is:

What will happen when Aunt Sophie leaves for France
How far a mother can go to hurt a daughter
Why a secret can rot a family
That her cakes might just help save her life

Whatever happens, Pumkin knows she needs someone to love her.

But she just doesn’t know who . . .
Praise for Sweetness in the Skin

‘A dazzling coming-of-age novel with an unforgettable heroine’ Red

‘Serves up a taste of Jamaica that will have you craving coconut drops, gizzada and sweet potato pudding’ The Times

‘Wonderful, tender, vivid’ Glamour

©2024 Ishi Robinson (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Caribbean Creators

Coming of Age

Family Life

Genre Fiction

Literary Fiction

World Literature

Heartfelt

Dream

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Critic reviews

I cherished every moment spent with Pumkin in this mesmerizing and poignant exploration of familial love and self-discovery. Robinson's narrative is infused with passion, delicately balancing stunning flavors and humor to create a feast for the senses. This captivating tale will linger in your heart long after the final page. An absolute must-read (Abi Daré, bestselling author of The Girl With the Louding Voice)

Delightful. This tender, humorous, coming-of-age tale celebrates the flavours and language of Jamaica (Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake)

The word-of-mouth sensation that's making waves . . . A searing coming-of-age novel set in 90s Jamaica that tells the story of irrepressible Pumkin Patterson . . . This luminous tale with its infectious heroine is perfect summer reading (Irenosen Okojie)

Vibrant, affecting and joyfully uplifting. I felt completely transported, and was cheering Pumkin along every step of the way! (Lucy Diamond, author of Anything Could Happen)

A dazzling coming-of-age novel set in the 1990s, with an unforgettable heroine (Sarra Manning)

Poignant and emotional, with touches of both humour and sorrow (Julia Quinn, bestselling author of Bridgerton)

Most relevant

I went looking for novels by contemporary Jamaican writers and glad I found this book.

It wasn’t a perfect book- overwritten in places and this urge to explain Jamaican culture in places to the reader was annoying instead of letting the reader discover it (if non-Jamaican) or recognise it if Jamaican or Caribbean.

Whilst I struggled with all Jamaican writers STILL writing about colour and race as if it is still colonial times, I enjoyed the cultural touch points, the familiar references and an emotional journey that is the reality for too many Jamaicans.

There are dark skinned Jamaicans who are wealthy and snobby as well. Not all “big men” in Jamaica are white. Boots quote that Jamaicans are still living on a plantation and playing the roles we have played since slavery is more or less correct, the story doesn’t reflect the strides made by black Jamaicans.

Once again here is a story where dark skinned people are evil, except for Boots and Tamara and light skinned people are kind.

Note Pumpkin is still a light skinned girl who needs rescuing from the horrors of ghetto Jamaica populated by evil dark skinned people. Jamaican writers need to do better in their representation of race and colour and reflect the evolution of Jamaica along race and class lines.

Deja Bowens did a decent job reading this story. But someone should have coached her in her French pronunciations. She nevertheless brought the characters to life.

I love how this novel doesn’t show migration as the ultimate answer for survival for poor Jamaicans. That Jamaica still offers hope and succour for most of us. It touches on running away from our struggles can mean meeting another form of struggle that amplifies one’s otherness. Whilst Sophie wants to lose herself in her proximity to whiteness in order to feel like she belongs to upper middle and brown class of Jamaica, Pumpkin wants to simply feel safe in her skin.

I enjoyed this book nonetheless