A Three-Turtle Summer [Paperback]

Janelle Meraz Hooper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

A Three-Turtle SummerBy Janelle Meraz HooperFort Sill, Oklahoma, 1949...Grace and her five-year-old daughter Glory are living through A Three?Turtle Summer-a summer so hot that the turtles are dying. It's also the summer that Grace's mother and sisters join forces with Grace to help her dump Dwayne, her abusive husband, whom her sister describes as meaner than a rattlesnake and dumber than adobe.Besides her Hispanic family, a rich list of characters also assist her escape, including: Sako, an American-born Japanese neighbor whose former home was the internment camp at Poston, Arizona; two gay dance instructors; a Negro gospel singer who sells Lip-Smackin' Barbecue out of the trunk of her new orange Cadillac convertible; and Rudolf, her older sister's husband who's a colonel in the Army. A Three-Turtle Summer was a first place fiction winner in the 2002 Bold Media Awards.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A Three-Turtle Summer"  is really a good story. I felt the pain of Grace with an abusive husband and the love of sisterhood. I am looking forward to reading the rest of your books. 
 Faye Hodgson, Puyallup
--Faye Hodgson, Puyallup

"I can't believe I read the whole thing. Three Turtle Summer was great.
What a story teller you are.  I opened the book and didn't see my house for the next two
days." Goldie Simpson --Goldie Simpson

"Just finished reading A Three-Turtle Summer and As Brown As I Want. Both were very enjoyable.  A bit sad, but kept me glued to every page."  Dorrie Simpson

--Dorrie Simpson

"A great book, I loved it. The Dwayne character was fun to dislike
and watching his life deteriorate was wonderful. Grace emerging from the brutality of Dwayne unfolded beautifully."
--C. M. Holtzinger --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Janelle Meraz Hooper is a writer with a Hispanic background. Originally from Oklahoma, she now lives south of Seattle. A novel and short story writer, she also contributes commentaries to The Northwest Guardian Newspaper, Ft. Lewis, Washington. She welcomes e-mails from her readers. Contact her at: [e-mail]

Product Details

• Paperback: 323 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595243754
• ISBN-13: 978-0595243754
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,457,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hello! Thank you for looking at my page. I'm a part-Hispanic writer who grew up listening to stories in my grandmother's living room. Everyone in my family was a wonderful story-teller. If only they had written them down!
My first three novels, my Turtle Trilogy, were written in honor of this warm, close family that wasn't afraid to work hard and never forgot to laugh. I call the books fictional autobiographies, although they are usually placed in the fiction section. I also have a Kindle book, Bears in the Hibiscus, a humorous romance, and a mixed genre book, Free Pecan Pie and Other Chick Stories. My A Three-Turtle Summer novel won the Bold Media Fiction Award in 2002. As Brown As I Want: The Indianhead Diaries, was a finalist in the 2004 Oklahoma Book Awards, and a first place winner for fiction in the 1999 Surrey (Canada) Writers' Conference contest.
I love to read, and have many fond memories of the Carnegie Library in Lawton, my hometown. One of the perks of writing is that I can explore my interests in marine biology, anthropology, and archaeology and call it research!
Although I was born and raised in Oklahoma, I now live in Washington State with my husband. Our daughter and her family live close by. Oh, the stories we tell in our living rooms!
Recently, Kindle has expanded to the UK and Germany. I'd like to welcome all of you and I hope you'll enjoy your Kindle! I love mine!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of A Three-Turtle Sumer, January 29, 2003

By 

Aline Lesage (Okanogan Co., WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Three-Turtle Summer (Paperback)

Reading 'A Three Turtle Summer' is a learning and rewarding experience. The author conveys very clearly - yet with measured tact - the insidiousness of discrimination and prejudice, namely towards minority women. Janelle Meraz Hooper's dialogues are witty and her characters are convincing. Hers is a moving portrayal of one woman's resolve to conquer herself, against all odds. This is a warm, unassuming and memorable story with no frills attached. I loved it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Three-Turtle Summer, December 1, 2002

By 

Kelly Creso (Federal Way, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Three-Turtle Summer (Paperback)

Set in Oklahoma in 1949, A Three-Turtle Summer offers a revealing view of the hard life of a Hispanic military wife and her daughter on Fort Sill's military base. Married to a post World War Two soldier that was raised with the mindset that physical and mental abuse are natural means by which to establish control over one's wife, Grace, the primary character slowly develops a plan to escape the constant beatings she endures.
Grace creates a secret life unknown to her husband as she attempts to cope with her circumstances and protect her daughter.
A Three-Turtle Summer is not only a fascinating story of survival and hope, it also paints a magnificent snapshot of life in the Southwest a half century ago. I found it captivating and hard to put down. I would not hesitate to recommend this superb book by author Janelle Meraz Hooper.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Three Turtle Summer, October 1, 2008

By 

A L Finch "alzpplz" (Lakewood, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Three-Turtle Summer (Paperback)

Janell Hooper has brought a story of domestic violence into fine focus with this book. It is a tragic tale but one reflecting the persistence of the human spirit which eventually brings a final relief from the agonies of pain, fear, and violence. The demeaning treatment of the heroine of this tale by her husband and her resourcefulness to secretly battle him could only be told by someone who has been very close to similar actual events as either participant or observer. The reader is left wondering, speculating, and cheering "our lady of survival". Highly readable, inspirational, and another voice of encouragement for those women yet too afraid to escape their cruel bondage. Thanks, Janelle.