When Life Gives You Mangos

When Life Gives You Mangos | Psychological Fiction | Kereen Getten | ages 8-12 |

In a small village in Jamaica called Sycamore, lives Clara, a twelve year old girl who is facing some challenges. One being she can’t remember at all what happened last summer. Her friends often mock her because of this and Clara begins to feel alone until a new girl named Rudy comes from New York. Clara doesn’t get along with Rudy in the beginning because she is afraid of being judged because of her problem. After a while though, with Rudy’s wild and active imagination, her bubbly personality, Clara and Rudy soon become best of friends. They go on imaginative adventures including to Clara’s uncle Eldorath house who has been shunned by the whole village because he can see ghosts. Despite her new friendship, Clara continues to have problems and needs to learn to overcome her fear of water, why she can’t remember last summer, and why her friendship with Gaynah broke.

This five hour long book is great read not just for children, but for anyone. I feel the audiobook was great for this book because we were able to hear the unique voice of the characters of this island, and since this book is told from the main character’s point of view, it feels as we are part of the story. I recommend reading this with your class, grade levels third to eight. I’d use this book because it contain what every good story has. A mystery that keeps you wanting to know more and an unexpected plot twist. A book that after you read it, it makes you wish there was a movie to go along with it. The story revolves around the message of family, friends, and moving past from our fears. Interesting topics to discuss with students are how we each spent summer, discussing the various themes and life lessons from this book. We can even discuss the meaning behind the title as we read along. And for those who aren’t able to travel, this book takes you to the Caribbean, and we are able to explore and learn about this country. It’s a great read for multicultural studies, geography, and even science. In this area of the planet, there lots of storms and Getten gives us insight about them such as the warnings.