When Life Gives You Mangoes

Clara a twelve-year-old girl lives on the island of Sycamore with her parents, a place where no one new ever comes in, except the visiting tourists who find it ‘exotic’. A new girl arrived this summer, but Clara is skeptical of the first impression she would make as all the kids in the island assume Clara changed from last summer.Clara seems to have forgotten everything that happened last summer, though the memories keep coming in as flashes. From dreaming to become a surfer and go surf the whole world, Clara is now dead scared to even put her feet in water. What happened last summer, did Clara really lose her memory of the past and how does the new girl Rudy change Clara’s life form the rest of the story.The backdrop of the island, the close knitted neighborhood, the innocence of the kids, especially the simple and silly games they keep playing, the way they fight, form groups — every single nuance is captured beautifully by the author. The hill, sea, banana grove, the entire island’s picturesque backdrop is exquisitely described by the author making the reader yearn to go on a beach holiday.Clara and Rudy’s pretend games are impressive as they replay a variety of scenarios. From page one the reader would be curious to know the reason for Clara’s lost memory and as the truth is unveiled it will shock the reader, the twist is the most unexpected, though there are very few clues dropped.Middle grade fiction can be tricky, and the author succeeds in spinning a narrative that appeals to all age groups. The cover is extremely well-designed. Pick this one to read a warm story about friendship and loss.

Thank you to Poppy Stimpson at Pushkin Press for having me along on the book blog tour for 𝘞𝘏𝘌𝘕 𝘓𝘐𝘍𝘌 𝘎𝘐𝘝𝘌𝘚 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘔𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘖𝘌𝘚 by Kereen Getten.-𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘴-Although When Life Gives You Mangoes is categorised as Pushkin Childrens, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and think readers of all ages would appreciate it.Focussed around Clara as the main character, it explores themes of friendship, loss, acceptance and community.It felt special in that the main character is a young girl, overcoming the odds and learning to accept and love herself, to grow into the person she is meant to become.-𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘙𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴-I love the portrayal of friendships between the characters throughout the book. The intensity of feeling that comes with being young and falling out with friends seemed very true and real.Rudy in particular seems somehow more worldly wise and grown-up, and her straightforward, direct approach to life clearly has a positive effect on Clara.The story felt like it took place during a long hot summer, which is reminscent of the reader's own childhood and summer holidays that seemed to always have good weather and last longer than they really did.-𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺-I don't want to give any of the plot twists away, but the atmosphere built through the oncoming storm, and the damage it causes, parralels the microcosm plot between the characters well.Only once things are truly addressed, with an element of destruction, can things be rebuilt and be strong enough to weather the next storm.Everyone needs support from friends, family, and their community to flourish and thrive.-𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘙𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴-One element of the story that I loved was how the older members of the community embraced learning from the younger members, instead of dismissing them.It's no secret that the parents within the community have not dealt with loss and breakdowns in friendships in the best way, for themselves as individuals or for the wider community.Clara and Rudy lead the way in encouraging this to change, and the end results benefits everyone.I think this reflects true life well, especially for younger readers who are often not given full answers to things, and instead are met with a brick wall from caregivers. Children often understand much more than adults give them credit for.-𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦-I read When Life Gives You Mangoes in one day, because the writing is really engaging. I loved Clara's character and really felt for her at times, and rooted for her when she needed it.I would highly recommend this to other readers of all ages, and I think the poignancy of the topics covered make this a really special book.-𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦... 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?

I loved this truly beautiful middle grade novel. It paints such a clear picture of life on an island when you live in a little community. The writing is just wonderful, with lots of lovely descriptions, that really places you in the middle of the story and I felt like I was there walking alongside Clara. Having been stuck inside for so long, it felt like the perfect time to be reading such a book!Clara is clearly troubled, and she illustrates so well the pain of trauma, having lost her memory after a mysterious event that has also given her a deep-rooted fear of the water. Whilst I was super curious for the big reveal to find out what had actually happened, I also felt so sad for her and how difficult she was finding everything. She has some wonderful friends and I loved how sweet her papa was, and watching her gradually open up to the people around her was just a pleasure to read.There is an extra mystery element to the novel, in the form of Clara's uncle Eldorath. Exiled from the community and Clara herself constantly being warned to keep away from him, I was even more curious to learn more about him and how his and Clara's story were interlinked. I did get a strong inkling of where it was all going, having read a very similar book not so long ago, and I think this would be a 5 star read if I had read this one beforehand.Despite Eldorath being essentially exiled, one of the strongest senses in the book was that of Clara's community. It was amazing to see how they all pulled together in a crisis and how even the kids would selflessly help the elderly members of the community without much grumbling. I loved the games they played all together, and just how it felt like one big family, that squabble and fall out, but ultimately have each others backs. This was a great read, and is one of those special books that should have universal appeal to all ages. I definitely recommend giving it a go if you haven't already.

I was lucky to receive a Netgalley Arc of Kereen Getten's Middle Grade Novel When Life Gives You Mangoes and published by Pushkin Children's. I had a feeling that I would fall in love with this book and so to support Kereen and buy a physical copy which in the end was the right move. When Life Gives You Mangoes is a stunning Contemporary Middle Grade Novel about a young girl called Clara who lived in Sycamore who can't actually remember what happened last summer. All she knows is that her island gets terrible storms in the summer and can remember everything else but not what happened last summer. This was such a mesmerizing book and as a reader you could really feel for Clara and her situation and this was due to Kereen's beautiful writing and it made me cry a lot during reading it. And the twist was so gobsmackingly good and a powerful one too so for all these reasons I had to give 5 stars.

I chose to read this book, as my 10 year old grandsons school had chosen to read it next term. What an interestingsubject, death , a loss of a best friend, how difficult it is to get over such a shock a t a young age. The school book club will have very interesting discussions.As a grandmother, I have lost many family members and friends over the years, by far the worst loss was my brother. We all need help to get over a death

I liked the way the author built the different elements of the young people's friendships and clearly identified with it. Even though I felt I should have been able to guest the end because all the clubs were there, I didn't and that was a lovely gift. At the time of reading I was a bit irritated the way in which the author would hint at something but never allow you to get there - like the elusiveness of something playing at the edge of our memory. It's a story that has you thinking about it days after you have read it.