Summary: For fans of deeply poignant middle grade about friendship and loss like The Thing About Jellyfish, comes the story about a young girl who can't remember anything from her previous summer after a hurricane.
Twelve-year-old Clara lives on an island that visitors call exotic. But there's nothing exotic about it to Clara. She loves eating ripe mangos off the ground, running outside in the rain with her Papa during rainy season, and going to her secret hideout with Gaynah--even though lately she's not acting like a best friend.
The only thing out of the ordinary for Clara is that something happened to her memory that made her forget everything that happened last summer after a hurricane hit. Sometimes things come back to her in drips like a tap that hasn't been turned off properly. Other times her Mama fills in the blanks...only she knows those aren't her memories and it is hard feeling like she is not like everybody else.
But this summer is going to be different for Clara. Everyone is buzzing with excitement over a new girl in the village who is not like other visitors. She is about to make big waves on the island--and give Clara a summer she won't forget.
My Review: My rating 4.5
Ok, I’m probably a little biased when it comes to this book, but it’s so good! The second, I saw this cover and title, I knew that I needed to read this. First of all, I should probably say the reason I read this was that I could relate to this book on a whole other level. My grandparents own a mango farm in a village in India, and for a whole summer, I had the opportunity to explore that place. It was an amazing experience and this book is like that place in many ways.
The main thing I loved about this book was the many layers it had. There are themes of community, friendship, grief and so much more, and it all fits together really well.
From the start, I was drawn into the atmosphere of this sea-side Jamaican village. And Kereen Getten did a really great job of giving off small-town vibes where everyone knows everyone, while still showing the secrets that lay hidden beneath.
Another layer that I really enjoyed was the mystery of what happened to Clara the summer before. Throughout the book, I found myself getting more and more curious and it took some control not to flip to the end to find out. And then wow, the plot twist completely shocked me. I spend a lot of the novel, trying to figure out what would happen, but I in no way expected that ending. When I picked up this book, I was expected a fun and light read about friendship, but this was so much more.
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