Pumkin Patterson does not have an easy life. She lives with her grandmother, her Aunt Sophie, and her mom, Paulette, who is mercifully rarely home, as she's often physically and verbally abusive to Pumkin. Pumkin's grandma and aunt want a better life for her, and Aunt Sophie in particular wants to escape their downtrodden home for life in Paris. But when Sophie makes the move to France without Pumkin, and her grandmother dies, Pumkin is suddenly struggling to achieve her dreams through baking and studying hard, despite Paulette's determination to hold her back.
This is a heartbreaking story to read, despite the delectable presence of Jamaican baking and culture. It does end happily, though it was not easy to read about all of the things that Pumkin had to go through to get there. That said, I could see this being a popular book for teens seeking out more literary reading.
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