The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony

“A sweet, sharp memoir.” —The New York Times

“The writing is both jewel-like and effortless, and Tometich’s memories — some mundane, some extraordinary — are mesmerizing.” — NPR

“In reclaiming [her mother] from the mug shot and clickbait headlines that followed her arrest, the author opens the door to something even more lasting, and possibly more severe: a daughter’s unflinching gaze. Keeping us close to the child’s-eye view of her formidable mother…yields moments of unexpected humor and stinging truth. [Annabelle] writes scene and dialogue with the metronomic precision of a seasoned broadsheet reporter, her ledes and kickers often bearing a sly, precocious slant.” — The New York Times Book Review

“In seeking to understand the complexity of her mother’s life, Tometich reveals the difficulties that many immigrants and multiracial families face as they try to find a way to belong.” — The Washington Post

“How far would you go to protect your precious mangoes? If you’re the mother of writer Annabelle Tometich, you’d go to jail.” —Eater’s Best Food Books to Read This Spring

Order The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony

by Annabelle Tometich

Out now from Little, Brown

Praise for The Mango Tree

  • “Keeping us close to the child’s-eye view of her formidable mother and the tragedies that befall their family…yields moments of unexpected humor and stinging truth. [Annabelle] writes scene and dialogue with the metronomic precision of a seasoned broadsheet reporter, her ledes and kickers often bearing a sly, precocious slant.”

    The New York Times Book Review

  • The Mango Tree introduces us to a debut author ready to bend our understanding of Florida, Filipino-American life, and motherhood. Witty, humorous, and heartfelt, Annabelle Tometich's unflinching memoir is a welcome and necessary addition to contemporary Asian-American literature. Tometich fills the need for a book that is so readable, so nuanced in its storytelling, and so forgiving in its portrayal of an overburdened, culturally isolated immigrant mother making a life for herself and children. Many times, I saw myself as the narrator and, more unexpectedly, as her mother. That's a sign to me of a book written with a keen eye and an open heart. This will be a gift to Filipinos and Filipino Americans everywhere.

    Cinelle Barnes, author of Monsoon Mansion and Malaya: Essays on Freedom

  • “In seeking to understand the complexity of her mother’s life, Tometich reveals the difficulties that many immigrants and multiracial families face as they try to find a way to belong.”

    The Washington Post

  • The Mango Tree is a story about a life spent focused on finding your place in the world, only to discover yourself instead. To oldest daughters who have raised siblings and those in need of an honest look at the pain and humor in complicated family love, Annabelle Tometich has written the book you've been waiting for.

    Minda Honey, author of The Heartbreak Years

  • "[A] sweet, sharp memoir."

    The New York Times’s 17 New Books Coming in April

  • Smart and compelling, funny and devastating, The Mango Tree gets to the heart of what matters—our relationships with our families, our world and ultimately ourselves. This is the kind of memoir that stays with you long after the final page.

    — Artis Henderson, author of Unremarried Widow

  • Full of humor, sharp observations, and a beating heart, (The Mango Tree) is an entertaining must-read for all the nobodies … who have fought hard to create their own lives separate from their families of origin. Those who are sandwiched between parenting children while also caring for aging parents will feel seen.

    Grace Talusan, author of The Body Papers, winner of the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing

  • “It’s rare to see an author give an honest account of every bit of it, which in this case includes added layers of tragedy, racism, and class struggle… And, of course, the moment Tometich comes to recognize that it really is impossible to separate herself from her upbringing. In the end, The Mango Tree reminds us that all trees derive strength from their roots.”

    Book Page starred review