A winning debut novel about a Jamaican girl determined to bake her way out of her dysfunctional family and into the opportunity of a lifetime.
 
“A delightful coming-of-age story set in Jamaica, amid heartbreak, hopefulness, and mirth.”—Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake
“Poignant and emotional, with touches of both humor and sorrow.” —Julia Quinn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Bridgerton, on Today.com
 
For Pumkin Patterson, home is complicated. She shares a tiny two-room house in Kingston, Jamaica, with three women: her mother, Paulette, who ignores her; her beloved Aunt Sophie, who her mother resents; and her grandmother, who has always played favorites. It’s not an easy household, and whenever tensions rise, Pumkin retreats to the kitchen—creating the Jamaican puddings and cakes that have always given her comfort.
 
When Sophie moves to France for work, she vows to send for her niece in one year’s time, promising a new life together. But in order to follow her aunt, Pumkin has a mountain to climb—starting with the question of how she’ll afford to make the journey.
Inspired by her skills in the kitchen, Pumkin hopes she can sell enough sweet treats to bake her way out. But when her school and her mother discover she’s been raising money to leave home, everything she’s worked so hard for may slip through her fingers. . . .
Sweetness in the Skin is a funny and heartbreaking story about a girl figuring out who she is and what she’s capable of—and where she truly belongs.