All Jamaican author Kereen Getten wanted to do was write a book that Caribbean children could identify with and be able to see themselves in the characters.
But that was not all others saw.
Since its publication in October 2020, When Life Gives You Mangoes has gained several accolades, including being nominated for, shortlisted for and winning several awards in the US, UK and the Caribbean.
When Life Gives You Mangoes is the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s Best of the Best pick for 2020, winner of the inaugural Caribbean Reader’s Award for Middle Grade, winner of the Redbridge Children’s Award 2021, and winner of the Bocas Lit Fest inaugural Children’s Book Award.
Getten told WMN it was a shock when she started being nominated for awards because she did not know how the book would be received. She expressed happiness that it resonated with people and appreciated the “extras” that were the awards.
[caption id="attachment_929180" align="alignnone" width="602"] The cover of the children's book by Jamaican author Kereen Getten -[/caption]
“When I sat down to write Mangoes I really just wanted to write a book for little me who wanted to see herself in a book because, growing up I didn’t see that at all. I didn’t see books about Caribbean children and books that were about adventures and laughter rather than our pain. So, although there’s a serious undertone in this book it really is just about children playing and being themselves.”
When Life Gives You Mangoes is the story of 12-year-old Clara who lives in a fishing village in Jamaica. Something happened to her last “summer” but she does not remember what. She befriends a new girl, Rudy, and they go on adventures. Due to that friendship, her memories slowly return and readers discover her secret.
Mangoes is her first full-length book but she has already written a second, If You Read This, which will be released next year. She is also in the process of editing her third book and is about to begin writing her forth. They are all children’s books set in Jamaica.
Based in Birmingham, Getten left Jamaica with her mother and siblings at age seven. Even as a child she loved reading and immersed herself in the world of books, excited to read at any chance she got. She went through so many books that her parents had to ask family members to share books they had already completed.
“I thought, ‘I really want to write these worlds that these authors have created. It’s so exciting!’ So I started writing short stories when I was about eight years old and started forcing my family to read them.”
She continued writing into secondary school and would let her friends read it but it never occurred to her that she could be an author.
“I think that goes back to not seeing myself in a book. All the books I read, the main characters were white so it never occurred to me to try and get these stories published. I just thought it wasn’t my world. It was only when I got older and started seeing black authors that I thought maybe this is possible.
“Th
