THE TWIST!! I rarely gasp audibly when reading books, let alone a middle grade, but this one SHOOK ME.

This follows Clara who lost her memory of a storm that happened the summer before. Because of this, she is usually teased on her island, even from her best friend, Gaynah. Something happened to her and we don't really know what or why it's changed Clara.

I don't typically read contemporary but I was sent this ARC from Pushkin Press (so thank you so much because I LOVED this) in exchange for an honest review, and honestly, I AM STILL THINKING ABOUT THE END OF CHAPTER TWENTY!

The intrigue in this was super high because I really wanted to know what happened to Clara, and I loved the unfolding of that mystery and how it plays out. It was SO well done, so major props to Kereen Getten for writing a very atmospheric middle grade. I loved the setting of the island and the feel of community in this, I found it so very sensory and it helped me to really invest in the story and characters.

When my daughter was younger, I read a lot of middle-grade books, but now that she is a teenager, I have fallen a bit out of the habit. And this book shows why it is such a shame. I loved the setting and the depiction of friendship and close village bonds and how easy it is to become an outsider and how difficult it is to find your way back in again. Having grown-up in a small village myself (although in a very different part of the world), I recognised so many of the dynamics, especially the power and sway the priest holds in a small Christian community. A lovely read about overcoming your demons and belonging.

My 9 year old daughter thoroughly enjoyed this and is looking forward to future books by Kereen Getten. Very moving, giving children an introduction to refugees, war and torn families. A lovely happy ending.

Great book and very atmospheric. I was impressed by the writing and i know that the children will really enjoy reading this book. It was descriptive yet the writing flowed beautifully. There was a quietness to it which is welcomed in this day and age. A perfect read for a reader who wants more than just crazy zany stories.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have one word to describe this book - INCREDIBLE!!

I did not see the twist coming at all, and as a middle grade book I didn’t expect the themes present.

I would definitely recommend people of all ages to read this, and I will be on the look out for more books by Kereen.

I thought this would be an excellent read for nowadays as I'm stuck in my London flat and missing the hot weather terribly. And the blurb of this book seemed so lovely. But I found myself looking for more in-depth characters and a more engaging story. I guess I'm not very familiar with middle-grade stories and it felt rather like an easy read.

Nonetheless, I like the twist, and I believe it would help many young people who lost someone.

12 Year Old Clara Dee lives on an exotic Island. She lives in a small community with her mum and dad. Shes a girl who loves to go on adventures with her best friend Gaynah but has trouble remembering what happened last summer. Her parents want to give her time to remember but she starts to 'misbehave' and they seek help. This summer Clara goes on the biggest adventure of her life...

A book filled with mystery, friendship and loss, Getten takes us on a journey of how a young girl starts to remember what happened last summer. This book is such an enjoyable read and when I tell you the plot twist had me SCREAMING! The Island and the community is the perfect setting for this mystery as we see it through Clara's eyes.

Seeing how the mystery unravels has been so fun to read through. I was so invested in the story and characters. I felt like I was there with Clara! There's definitely a few lessons to be learnt with this story.

5/5 Would recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and Pushkin Press for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review ✨

This was such a nice surprise! The plot, the writing, the characters, everything was so so good and enjoyable. This delved into so many deep topics and I feel they were dealt with so well. The pacing was really nice and there was never a point where I felt bored reading this.

I think the story was so well thought out and that plot twist?? Wow I was so caught of guard and I LOVE it! I love when books take an unexpected turn and I loved that sense of tension with wondering what happened to Clara.

I really enjoyed this read and will definitely be picking up a physical copy when this is released!

A thoughtful and fun read for YA confident readers, this story follows Clara as she faces her fears and tries to remember what happened to her the previous summer. It has a fantastic twist I didn’t see coming, and for a YA novel, doesn’t talk down to its readers, instead making them part of Clara’s inner thoughts in an endearing way. Set in Jamaica, the reader is immersed in the culture and is one of those books where you look up confused where you are. Thoroughly recommend to readers, this deserves to be a real hit! Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the free advance e-book copy of the title.

4.5 stars

I was not expecting to love ‘When Life Gives You Mangoes’ as much as I did.

I honestly did not know where this book was going to go when I started it but I loved reading about Clara’s life and about her friends and family. This book also has a hint of a mystery in it as throughout there are mentions of something which happened a year prior to the start of the book and it is also something which Clara does not remember.

The twist in this book I did not expect to happen. I did have a few guesses as to why Clara couldn’t remember what happened to her the year before but my guesses were not correct at all and the twists really did make this book even more amazing.

My favourite parts of this book was seeing Clara with her friends and her family, especially the scenes with her father, and the scenes where Clara and Rudy are playing together and growing closer to each other.

‘When Life Gives You Mangoes’ is an amazing middle grade debut book and I loved it so much.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley. I found it hard to get into the story and considered giving up but I’m glad I persevered.

Clara can’t remember the events of last summer and this year, she is going through a difficult time with the few friends she has in her village. Her uncle is a recluse who is branded as the witch doctor by the local pastor. When Clara meets a new girl and they go exploring to her uncle’s house, it sets in motion a series of events which explain what happened the previous year.

Once the truth is revealed, the story makes sense but I have read other books which do this better.

The author includes lots of description of a tropical island and does a good job of bringing the characters to life.

Clara behaves differently; something happened last summer, which is hard for her to recall, or I might say she refuses to. Even her best friend Gaynah ridicule her for not remembering what happened. But with the arrival of the new girl Rudy in their village, her friendships nurture, and so her equation with her uncle Eldorath, who was allegedly abandoned by the entire village.
Kereen has written an adorable middle-grade book. It’s a beautiful story of letting go and forgiving oneself, of friendship and loss. The best part of the book is the TWIST! the REVELATION! It blew me. I was like- what? wow! Was it that way all along? I read that part again to make sure I read it correctly. Honestly, I did that. I was very much astonished, and that surprise just made all the difference. I loved it. I sincerely recommend this if you’re into middle-grade books.
The only thing that bothered me was that the twist came only after when the seventy percent of the book was almost done. So, for the earlier part, it seems a little unadorned narration. Otherwise, it goes great.

Oooh this book is such a gripping one. It hit me right in the chest. Clara has lost all her memories of what happened the previous summer. Now, she can't go near her surfboard for her fear of the water. Will the arrival of a new girl into this tight knit island community help Clara regain her memory? And why is her best friend acting so strangely? Great writing, an exciting mystery - more please Kereen!

I adored this book so much I did an Instagram live with my friend Rhiannon (@what.rhi.read - also a bookseller) discussing how much we loved Getten's book. It's a heartfelt 9-12 novel about grief and friendship, and I will definitely be recommending it upon publication in October.

Strong debut novel by Kareen Getten, her writing style is unreal!!! fast paced with well thought out complex characters both kids and adults! The story is about friendship and understanding each other and playfulness and being young and carefree until something happens that changes your life but with the help of your family you can over come everything.

I love when adults don’t just disappear from middle grade or YA books. I love that families can listen to their kids and care for them the best they can with the tools they have. I really enjoy having somehow realistic people around our main character, Clara.

Though i really enjoy the book and the characters it was a little short for me, I’d like to see more about her family, yet the end felt a little long and I felt the aftermath of the storm that hit near the end was kind of rushed. Maybe I’m not used to middle grade books?

I highly recommend this book to anybody who love adventures, friendships and mangoes off course!

When Life Gives You Mangos is a sweet story about family, friendship and grief. Clara is a twelve year old Jamaican girl, and it’s easy to immerse yourself into her narrative, understand why she does the things she does and feel genuine sympathy for her despite not understanding her trauma until the end of the book. The characters don't feel like caricatures, set in roles they're given by Clara's narration. Instead they are vibrant and it is easy to imagine them all in Sycamore, interacting with each other as the novel progresses.

I really enjoyed the sense of community in this book. It was Clara's story but everyone in her village pieced together to make the story whole. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the beach and also Clara's hesitancy to to the things she used to love, and also how the past unfolded and fit neatly into the future. This book was very wholesome and a nice, fun, quick read. This is a book for younger readers but I really enjoyed it.

Kereen Getten manages to really capture the way that children play together at this age, the shifting in and out of fantasy play, the rivalry, the moments of high drama over small things. As a reader I enjoyed the company of the characters, I was also intrigued about the central mystery but not at the expensive of the characters or the feel of the novel as so often happens in mystery books written for this age group. This book felt fresh, fun and immersive. I'll be heavily promoting it to my readers when it's published.

When Life Gives You Mangoes
by Kereen Getten
Published by Pushkin Press

This exciting story explores friendship & elements of real life that can be so tricky. A smooth blend of drama & normality, we really get to share the characters' feelings. A fantastic debut novel by Kereen Getten, I feel like I grew familiar with the island locations. The traditional island games amongst mango trees & banana groves remind us of simple childhood innocence & fun. The eclectic mix of real characters on the island who'd almost all lived there many years is superb & includes a shunned uncle labelled a witch doctor.

The reason for Clara's memory loss & feelings of painful isolation stays a secret for a lot of the story, but she manages to grasp every moment of fun she can. A slow summer really takes off with the appearance of Rudy from England. New arrivals to the island were very rare & Clara was delighted by Rudy's detailed role-playing games, enthusiasm, daring fashionista style & fantastic imagination.

Old family disagreements surface & long term grudges get in the way of life but the discovery of some old letters & surviving a devastating island storm turn everything around revealing old truths & sparking true community spirit.

This story has mystery, adventure, fun-factor, & explores the joy & simplicity of island life games but gives us layers of emotion & human strength in the wonderful mix from cover to cover.

Bravo Pushkin!

Thanks to Pushkin Press for letting me read this book for a review.

I have When Life Gives You Mangoes 5 Stars.

When Life Gives You Mangoes follows Clara who lives in Sycamore with her best friend Gaynah. However, there's one thing she can't remember; what happened last summer. When Rudy arrives from England, the two hit it off and go on adventures across the island, discovering secrets along the way. Slowly, the memories from last summer begin to come back.

I loved this! It took me on a journey I was not expecting to go on. I haven't read many middle-grade recently so I wasn't sure what to expect going into this but I'm truly glad I did. So many emotions were brought out while reading this and I couldn't put it down. I loved reading about the relationships across the village and what life is like in Jamaica. Seeing Rudy and Clara's friendship blossom as they go on their adventures to the fort and down to the river brought back childhood memories and when Eldorath was introduced to the story, I couldn't help but fall in love with the family bonds.

I really do recommend this book to nearly everyone!

Middle grade isn't normally my thing but this was a heartwarming, authentic story about friendship, family, loss and grief. Clara is 12. She used to love the sea and surfing, but now she can't even step in the water. She can't remember last summer at all, and is acting out of character.

This summer, Clara wants to have the best time with her friend Gaynah, and maybe get to know the new girl Rudy. I loved Sycamore, the imagery Kereen Getten gave me from her writing was spectacular, with mango trees and Clara's Uncle's home being standouts.

Clara goes on such a journey in this book, having to come to terms with her trauma. What she goes through at 12 is so tough, and I love that her parents stand by her when some of the other people in the village are critical of her behaviour. I also really like Rudy's character - she was such a fun, unique girl with great style, and I think she was such a good friend for Clara.

The ending is super sweet and it definitely made me tear up a bit. Sometimes that happy sadness feeling is a great feeling, you know? Anyway, I'm really glad I gave this a go because it was nice to be transported back to the life of a 12 year old, and it really gave me a feel for Sycamore.