Frying Plantain

This is the story of a young girl, daughter of Jamaican immigrants, growing up in Toronto. Besides the usual teenager woes, she has to struggle with being bicultural and that uncomfortable feeling of not fitting in with your community at home or in the Motherland. The book develops in a series of interconnected short stories, that to me, resembled the vignettes of quotidianity, peeks into someone else’s life reality-show style. And though this book is definitely about growing up Jamaican in Canada, the everyday life of Kara seems so universal that it is relatable to people from all backgrounds and ethnicities. The most noteworthy part of the story is the tense relationship between Kara, her mom and her strong-willed grandma. I found grandma and grandpa to be the strongest characters in the book. However, if you as a reader are plot-oriented or love to feel a personal connection with the characters, you might find this book lacking. It is a really interesting story, but very ordinary without thrilling pot-twist and with a variety of characters that rarely show themselves past a chapter or two. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining book that I would recommend.

It was a true depiction of Caribbean relationships through various generations. It showed inspite of strained relationships, tradition and family hold strong. Emotions and feelings are often difficult to express but bonding and love is often expressed or communicated through food.

I thought the writing got better as the plot developed. The last quarter of the novel is such fine writing. The plot did not intrigue me much but again the conclusion of the plot was impressive.

Great book, definitely recommend!

This book is MAGNIFICENT. I really had no idea I was going to fall so totally in love with this story, and with Kara when I started this book, but let me tell you, this is one of those books that sticks with you long after you are done.I LOVED the way that Zalika crafted the chapters as short story/essay style chunks, which tie together Kara's life as a teenager to a young woman. Everything reads so cohesively, despite the fact that you are jumping ahead months and years at a time. I was so totally sucked into Kara's story that I probably could have read a story for every year of her life and still wanted more.The nuance and complexity in Kara's story isn't something I can adequately explain, you just need to experience this one for yourself. And let me tell you, I picked this up thinking I would read a chapter a day - and then read the entire thing in one night because I HAD TO know what happened to Kara in the end.COMPLETELY bingeable and a total must read. Get this one on your list, you will NOT regret it!

Although this is a series of interconnected short stories, it actually works quite well as a larger novel as it never steps into fully short story mode. It's the coming of age story for Kara but it's also her mother Eloise's story, and the story of her grandmother Verna as well. Moving between Toronto and Jamaica, it addresses both domestic mother-daughter issues and the dislocation of first generation immigrants. Kara is under a huge amount of pressure from both older women to become something. Her travels back to Jamaica and Verna's input (in patois) provide special insight. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A very good read that provided insight into a large and vibrant community.

Very relatable stories of bullying, parental ineptness, and racism. Written in a new format- combination of a novel and a series of stories. I recommend it for teens and 20 somethings especially.

This was a GREAT read...so great that I read it very quickly. I love how the author utilized first person and third person narrators. I also loved that some of the writing was like journal writing. I look forward to reading more work by this author!

Frying Plantain is a semi-autobiographical anthology of 12 linked coming-of-age stories. At its centre is Kara Davis, a young girl of Jamaican heritage living in Toronto. She finds herself at a crossroads in terms of her identity. It’s a common crisis for second generation immigrants, and Kara is caught between her Canadian nationality and her desire to be a “true” Jamaican. To add to that, she carries the burden of playing mediator in her family while navigating the teenage experience.Personally, I find Kara incredibly relatable. Growing up as a young, Black, second-generation Jamaican wasn’t the easiest thing, and it was a prize to meet a character with similar trials, anxieties, and pressures. In addition, the divide and tensions between the three generations was also fascinating to dive into. The occasional sentence felt as if it had been plucked from my own experiences. But the representation is not the only highlight of Frying Plantain.The cultural disparities between Canada and Jamaica are brilliantly mapped out in this book. Interactions, relationships and behaviours are viewed in two different ways, which is evident in the behaviour of Kara, her mother, and her grandmother. I loved the contrast between the island and the city, intertwined with Kara’s emotional struggle to find balance between the two.Reid-Benta’s writing is refreshingly clear and gratifyingly fluent. But it is still full of life with an airy and playful tone that adds levity to the character’s heavier challenges. Despite being a collection of short stories, Frying Plantain reads like a novel. And although it is very much a coming-of-age story, the exploration of family dynamics is a constant theme. Women take centre stage, and Kara is particular is painted as courageous yet mild, even with the parental and societal demands she faces.Frying Plantain successfully delves into behaviour modification, racial prejudices, and family dynamics. It’s easy to read but carries emotional weight, especially for those who can relate to its multidimensional characters. Plus, the use of Jamaican patois brought an immovable smile to my face.

I purchased this book because it was the next selection in the CityLine Book Club! I just can’t get into this book! I just finished it last night only because I paid $20 for it! Did not enjoy it at all couldn’t hold my interest same things keep happening!

There was nothing that I disliked about it. Very entertaining. Read it twice already. Will be giving it to my daughter to read also. Don't think she find it that entertaining, especially when they wrote about the pig's head in the freezer.lol I'm familiar with all of that so for me, I get a good laugh. Good luck to the author and I'm looking forward to reading more of her books. Great work.

This is a collection of interconnected stories rooted in a Canadian, Ontario Toronto neighborhood about a young girl's experiences of a child to immigrants, her school experiences and life in general. The character Kara Davis struggles with identity issues and questions her 'Jamaicaness' and growing up in Canada. This is a book anyone can relate to.

Her writing is wonderful! I got lost in the stories and I wish she had written more!!