Our Only May Amelia [Audio CD]

Jennifer L. Holm (Author), Emmy Rossum (Narrator)

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Books On Tape (2000)
• ISBN-10: 0739361104
• ISBN-13: 978-0739361108
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Turtle in Paradise started with a story my mom liked to tell about her childhood. During the summers, her grandmother would take her to Key West to visit her relatives. Her mother made her promise to "shake her shoes out." My mom didn't know why her mother wanted her to do this, but she did it anyway. And then one hot day, she shook her shoes and out popped . . . a scorpion!

Writing Turtle in Paradise was a wonderful way to re-connect with my Key West heritage. My great-grandmother, Jennie Lewin Peck, emigrated from the Bahamas to Key West at the turn of the century. She considered herself a "Conch," what the local Key West folks called themselves, after the native mollusk that so many fished for in the Bahamas. Nana was always talking about how she missed sugar apple ice cream and Spanish limes. When my editor, Shana Corey, started asking me about Nana and my Key West family, I just knew that there was a story somewhere in there.

Researching this book was also an interesting way to experience a different side of living through the Great Depression. While Key West suffered significant economic hardship (the town went bankrupt and the majority of the citizens were on economic relief), it didn't have the same sort of feel as most of the depression stories I was used to hearing--soup lines, tent cities, and the Dust Bowl. Key West was warm for one thing, and there was plenty of free food, courtesy of the sea. One man told me, he ate lobster during the Depression! Key West was a freewheeling town full of characters and bygone industries--sponge fishing, rumrunners, and, of course, pirates! It had all the ingredients for a fabulous setting.

I hope you enjoy reading Turtle in Paradise as much as I enjoyed writing it. And if you ever go to Key West, be sure to shake out your shoes!







Brother and sister team, Matthew Holm and Jennifer Holm, grew up playing with stuffed mice. Today Jennifer is the author of several highly acclaimed novels, including the Newbery Honour book, 'Our Only May Amelia'. Matthew is a graphic designer and freelance writer. Neither of them have mice, although Jenni does have a small son who likes cheese a lot and Matt has a weasel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!, February 19, 2000

By 

"jon_nyc" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Only May Amelia (Newbery Honor Book, 2000) (Hardcover)

I know this book won a Newbery and is supposed to be for kids, but I have to say I loved it too, and I'm a grown-up. May Amelia is drawn with such a clear vision that she leaps off the page and into your heart from the very beginning. She's sharp and witty and likeable and won't stand for any guff from anyone who wants her to be something she's not.

Now I have to strongly disagree with the reviewer who didn't like the format: I loved the format for two reasons 1) it conveyed an immediacy and directness which is what May the character is all about, and 2) it helped remind me, as I was reading, that May is the child of immigrants and thinks in Finnish. It's so rare to find a writer who can tell a great yarn and can be a real artist with form too. Faulkner could do it; and I predict a bright future for this author too.

By the way, this book is not just for girls either -- I was really moved by May Amelia's struggles to find her place in the world. Anybody (boy or girl, young or old) who has ever felt that everyone around them wants them to be something they are not will be deeply moved. I can't wait for the author's next book!

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a wonderful book, April 4, 2000

By 

Esme R. Codell "planetesme.com" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Our Only May Amelia (Newbery Honor Book, 2000) (Hardcover)

I read this book on an airplane and I cried openly. I felt so lucky to have a chance to look across time and space into this imtimate view of a girl growing up at the turn of the century, based on a real person. I found the use of capitalization absolutely perfect in conveying the not only the meaning of the text but the emotional impact and the way May Amelia was internalizing what is being said to her. The present tense only made the perceptions more immediate, and I think all together the author's choices were extremely effective in successfully creating a true time travel experience for the reader. There were many characters, boys and girls, and they all were very distinctive. I would hate to think any girl coming of age would miss out on the chance to know May Amelia just because some people are sticklers for more traditional format, since this book really lights up the shelves of children's literature and I can't wait to read it out loud to as many kids as will listen. To the other reviewer: yes, Zachary Beaver is terrific, and I do agree that the National Book Award has promoted some sensational children's literature that surely rivals the Newbery, but there's no need to read one instead of the other. Let's be glad there are more forums to recognize the best of the best! I'll wager time will prove that Our Only May Amelia is among the more enduring and beloved female protagonists from the turn of OUR century! P.S. if you like this book, try The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich, you'll like it, too!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down!!! Perfect for 12 year old girls., July 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Only May Amelia (Newbery Honor Book, 2000) (Hardcover)

This a very touching story. It is so realistic and interesting. It takes place in the Nasel river area in South west Washington and in Astoria Oregon. You see what life was like for another 12 year old a hundred years ago. Have a box of kleenex handy.