Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Sweetness in the Skin

  • By: Ishi Robinson
  • Narrated by: Deja Bowens
  • Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (3 ratings)

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Sweetness in the Skin cover art

Sweetness in the Skin

By: Ishi Robinson
Narrated by: Deja Bowens
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

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…

For Pumkin Patterson, family is complicated.
There’s her mother Paulette, who only sees Pumkin as a nuisance. There’s her beloved Auntie Sophie, who has always talked of she and Pumkin travelling to new horizons. And there’s her grandmother, who has always favoured Sophie over Paulette.
When Sophie moves to France for work, she promises to send for her niece in one year’s time. All Pumkin has to do is pass her French entrance exam. But when Pumkin’s mother finds out, she’s determined that her sister won’t get her own way this time.
Now forced to raise the money for her exam in secret, Pumkin turns to her loyal friends to help her secure her way out . . . while evading her mother’s suspicions.

But while Pumkin dreams of her escape, could happiness be closer to home than she thinks?
©2024 Ishi Robinson (P)2024 Penguin Audio
Coming of Age Family Life Literary Fiction
Show More Show Less

Critic reviews

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)
Sweetness in the Skin is a tender exploration of familial love, both the family you’re born to, and the one you find along the way. Robinson has written a treatise on the effects of colourism and class divisions that is heartbreaking and raw, yet joyful. This vivid story transported me to Pumkin’s world through an excursion of the senses, the sights, the sounds, and especially the tastes of Jamaica, taking me back to the one journey I took to my fatherland and leaving me yearning to return. (Charlene Carr, author of Hold My Girl)

What listeners say about Sweetness in the Skin

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.co.uk reviews

Amazon reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Amazon Customer

A book full of wonderful characters!

I’m so glad I’ve listened to this wonderful story, brought alive by the brilliant narration!
It was chosen for our Bookclub and is definitely one of my favourite reads!
It is a story about determination to succeed in the face of adversity, true friendships and support from unlikely sources.
It also gave a glimpse into Jamaican life and the vast gulf in wealth and lifestyle between people of different backgrounds!
I would love a sequel and be able to follow Pumpkin’s further adventures!

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Lauren Hinds

An interesting plot…

Pumpkin stood out the most, a very well-written character. There were other lovable characters, Boots for example and Aunt Sophie. The plot was very long and drawn out though.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!