Turtle in Paradise [Paperback]

Jennifer L. Holm (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 27, 2011 | Age Range: 8 and up

In Jennifer L. Holm's New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor winning middle grade historical fiction novel, life isn't like the movies. But then again, 11-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple. She's smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it's 1935 and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle's mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn't like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida to live with relatives she's never met. Florida's like nothing Turtle's ever seen before though. It's hot and strange, full of rag tag boy cousins, family secrets, scams, and even buried pirate treasure! Before she knows what's happened, Turtle finds herself coming out of the shell she's spent her life building, and as she does, her world opens up in the most unexpected ways. Filled with adventure, humor and heart, Turtle in Paradise is an instant classic both boys and girls with love.

Includes an Author's Note with photographs and further background on the Great Depression, as well as additional resources and websites.

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews:
"Sweet, funny and superb."

Starred Review, Booklist:
"Just the right mixture of knowingness and hope . . . a hilarious blend of family drama seasoned with a dollop of adventure."

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–5—In 1935, jobs are hard to come by, and Turtle's mother is lucky to find work as a live-in housekeeper. When she learns that her employer can't stand children, she sends her 11-year-old daughter from New Jersey to Key West to live with relatives. Turtle discovers a startlingly different way of life amid boisterous cousins, Nana Philly, and buried treasure. This richly detailed novel was inspired by Holm's great-grandmother's stories. Readers who enjoy melodic, humorous tales of the past won't want to miss it.—Stephanie Malosh, Vernon Area Public Library, Lincolnshire, IL
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Eleven-year-old Turtle is not one to suffer fools gladly. And she runs into a lot of fools, especially the no-goods her starry-eyed mother meets. So it's a tough little Turtle who arrives in Key West in June of 1935. She's been sent to Florida to stay with relatives because her mother's latest housekeeping job doesn't allow children. Unfortunately, Mama has neglected to tell Aunt Minnie she's coming, and Turtle gets the stink eye from cousins with monikers like Buddy and Beans. As Turtle soon learns, everything is different in Key West, from the fruit hanging on trees to the scorpions in nightgowns to the ways kids earn money. She can't be part of her cousins' Diaper Gang (no girls allowed), which takes care of fussy babies, but when she finds a treasure map, she hopes she'll be on Easy Street like Little Orphan Annie. Holm uses family stories as the basis for this tale, part romp, part steely-eyed look at the Depression era. Reminiscent of Addie in the movie Paper Moon, Turtle is just the right mixture of knowingness and hope; the plot is a hilarious blend of family dramas seasoned with a dollop of adventure. The many references to 1930s entertainments (Terry and the Pirates, Shirley Temple) will mostly go over kids' heads, but they'll get how much comics and movies meant to a population desperate for smiles. An author's note (with photos) shows Holm's family close-up. Grades 4-6. --Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Yearling; Reprint edition (December 27, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 037583690X
• ISBN-13: 978-0375836909
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.6 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > United States

More About the Author

Jennifer L. Holm is a NEW YORK TIMES bestselling children's author and the recipient of three Newbery Honors for her novels OUR ONLY MAY AMELIA, PENNY FROM HEAVEN, and TURTLE IN PARADISE. Jennifer collaborates with her brother, Matthew Holm, on two graphic novel series -- the popular Babymouse series and the bestselling Squish series. She is also the author of several other highly praised books, including the Boston Jane trilogy and MIDDLE SCHOOL IS WORSE THAN MEATLOAF. She lives in California with her husband and two children.

For more information, visit her website at www.jenniferholm.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 1935 Key West...Paradise? Not for Turtle! May 5, 2010

By Timothy Capehart VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Eleven year old Turtle doesn't like kids 'cause they are nothing like Shirley Temple (and Turtle doesn't like HER either). See, Turtle's had some bad experiences with the children of her mother's various employers. No kid is nice to the housekeeper's kid.

When Mama's new employer Mrs. Budnick shares Turtle's low opinion of children and refuses to let Turtle stay in her house, Mama sends Turtle to Key West and the home of an aunt and far too many boy cousins none of whom Turtle's ever met. New environment, new culture, new family, new rules.

Her eleven-year-old cousin Beans (everyone has a nickname, so Turtle fits in THAT way) runs the Diaper Gang, a babysitting service with a secret weapon against diaper rash & they have a rule: no girls allowed. Turtle usually tags along anyway because despite the colorful locals (including a very familiar mustached author) there isn't much to do on the island.

Her mother may have Hollywood dreams, but turtle is down to earth. She views life as more like the story of the three little pigs: you just set up a new house & a big bad wolf comes to blow it down (Mama's not the best at picking men)...but Archie could be different...but the two of them are up in New Jersey--while Turtle's stuck in the mud and the heat.

Holm again mixes her family's history with a well told story (much like she did in "Penny from Heaven" in 2006). This one has all the local color you could want and rum runners and pirates and a heroine who's just the right mix of snarky and charming. A winner for fans of Holm or historical fiction.

(And now full disclosure: I read most of this while walking on my treadmill right next to a framed manuscript page from "Penny from Heaven." I have met Jenny Holm & she's just about the nicest person you'd ever want to meet...so I may not be entirely unbiased. However, I have never been a fan of historical fiction & I really did not want to put this down. Holm & Cushman are the only ones who do that to me consistently!)

PS to the publisher: this cover has nothing to do with the book--it's very misleading!

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good. September 27, 2010

By Erin VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The Depression-era Florida Keys setting and the believable, thoroughly likeable main character make for an enjoyable read. The problem is that the author spends the first two-thirds of the book developing these two elements of her story with a gently-paced, day-to-day style plot, then throws in a whirlwind of major plot twists in the last 50 pages. It felt a little off-balance. I liked the setting and characters so much that I wanted these new plot developments to be explored a little more fully, but it almost felt like the author had reached her page limit so she just had to wrap it up. So it's not a perfect book, but it's not a waste of time, either. Read it and see what you think!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely not the funny papers July 7, 2010

By R. Kyle TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Times are tough in Depression-Era America. Eleven-year-old Turtle's Mom keeps losing housekeeper jobs and getting her heart broken by no-good men. When her Mom gets a job with an old lady who doesn't like children, she has no other choice but to send her daughter Turtle home to Key West to live with her sister, Minerva. Turtle really isn't sure how her Mom is going to survive since she's the sensible one of the two of them, but hard times call for desperate measures.

Turtle arrives with her cat, Smokey, only to discover she's going to be living in a house with boys, a dog, and nobody wears shoes on the island. At least, she's not the only one to have a nickname, there's Beans, Too Bad, Slow Poke and others.

She rides along with the Diaper Gang, a bunch of boys who babysit for candy, and learns the secret family formula for diaper rash.

While in the Conch Republic, she learns about alligator pears (avocadoes), rum running, sponge fishing and most importantly, that she still has a Grandma. Prior to this, her Mom had told Turtle that her Grandma was dead. Oddly, the hard-shelled Turtle is one of the few people that Nana Philly actually likes. She also meets Key West's most famous denizen and advises him he should be writing for the funny papers.

"Turtle in Paradise" is a great historical Young Adult novel that readers of all ages will enjoy. The story's got more than one good line per page and will keep you reading all night.

Rebecca Kyle, July 2010