Kereen Getten > Quotes

“They will talk about work and politics but mostly about how much fun they had when they were younger. How they ran the streets, how the music was better and people were kinder.”
― Kereen Getten, When Life Gives You Mangos

“The air feels heavy with guilt and unsaid words.”
― Kereen Getten, When Life Gives You Mangos

“My home is rugged and flawed. It sits on the hill overlooking the ocean, half brick, half wood. It used to be white stone and brown wood, but today Papa is painting it blue to match the sky.”
― Kereen Getten, When Life Gives You Mangos

“This town is full of things no one wants to talk about.”
― Kereen Getten, When Life Gives You Mangos

“She was wearing a wide-brimmed hat that covered her face and matched her green vest and green shorts. I had stared at her, wondering if rich people ever dress like normal people.”
― Kereen Getten, The Case of the Lighthouse Intruder

“This is a terrible thing for all of us,” he says sombrely. “This is our community. When one of us suffers, we all suffer. When one of our houses is gone, it feels like all our houses are gone.”
― Kereen Getten, When Life Gives You Mangos

“Mi never ask to be here," I repeat. "I like my house, and I like my life, and I like my mother, and I like how I speak. I don't like all dis pretend, pretend, dress up, dress up, fake things, because I don't know what is real. I don't know if yuh even like me because nothing is real here. Nobody here is real!" I scream.”
― Kereen Getten, The Case of the Lighthouse Intruder

“Papa says people listen to him because he’s the head of the church and he speaks for God, but I think it’s because he looks like a movie star and people always listen to movie stars. Even when they’re not saying anything worth listening to.”
― Kereen Getten, When Life Gives You Mangos

“Somehow, they suit each other, Rudy and Eldorath. They have the same imagination, and it’s as if they have been waiting for each other their whole lives.”
― Kereen Getten, When Life Gives You Mangos

“I feel a pang of sadness and wish there was a way for her to be here too. It seems so unfair that she works every day and we still have nothing, while Omar and Aaron have all this, and I've never seen their parents work.”
― Kereen Getten, The Case of the Lighthouse Intruder

“We also have. Cinema, but Mr Hammond only shows films he likes. Usually kung fu films starring an actor named Bruce Lee. Mr Hammond can talk for a long time about Bruce Lee. Mama says if he sees you, he will trick you into thinking he has something important to say, but really, he just wants to talk about Bruce Lee.”
― Kereen Getten, When Life Gives You Mangos

“So with her house destroyed, it is as if our own houses were distorted. Her tears are our tears, because Ms Gee never cries.”
― Kereen Getten, When Life Gives You Mangos

“Ms Gee didn’t have a phone, so she would just yell until someone heard her.”
― Kereen Getten , When Life Gives You Mangos

“All he’s ever said is that he wants things to go back to the way they were before, when Euronext came to his house for parties and no one thought he was a monster. He could have been angry with you for the lies you told about him, but he isn’t. Even after everything, he wants to be part of this village, and I think that makes him a better person than any of us, don’t you?”
― Kereen Getten, When Life Gives You Mangos