Sweet Like Sugar Cane

Before she became the mother who put her son on a plane to St. Kitts, Gwendolyn Richards was just a girl trying to figure out who she was.

Raised in the sun warmed hills of St. Kitts, Gwen's life is full of contradictions. She has her best friend Sharon, her father's quiet wisdom, her mother's firm and loving hands, and Lenwell Turnbull, whose eyes find hers across every school assembly.

Life moves to the rhythm of sugar cane fields, market mornings, and the island's radio reading out the names of the dead.

Then everything changed.

In one season, Gwen discovers the electricity of first love and learns that some things cannot be rushed like yam vines, like grief, like growing up. She faces heartbreak she never saw coming and a loss that will alter her world forever.

Sweet Like Sugar Cane is a lyrical tender coming of age story set in the lush rhythms of St. Kitts, deeply emotional and rooted in identity, girlhood, and the quiet courage it takes to choose your own path.

"A beautifully layered story of identity, love, and the timeless pull of home." – LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Nicola Yoon, and Ibi Zoboi. For YA readers ages 12 and up who love first love stories, Caribbean settings, and coming of age fiction with heart.

Part of the Island Roots Series. Each book stands alone and can be read in any order. Also available as an audiobook.