Friday, April 14, 2017

Book Review for Turtle in Paradise



Book Review by Allie Davis
MLIS 5603 Literature for Children and Young Adults

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Holm, Jennifer L. Turtle in Paradise. New York: NY: Yearling Book, 2011. ISBN 03758369X

UNITS: 
Use as an introduction to the Depression, Florida/Key West, 20th Century, Teenage/Adolescence, and family.  
https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?a=1&tid=20495&s=n
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Turtle-In-Paradise-Lesson-Plan-LA-Unit-Grades-4-5-6-142722

https://www.novelstudies.org/downloads/Turtle_In_Paradise_Novel_Study_Preview.pdf
PLOT SUMMARY
     Turtle is an eleven-year old girl who has been sent to Florida to live with an aunt she has never met because her mother has taken a live-in job which doesn't allow children. Her Aunt Minerva is a typical Depression Era woman, managing her children and household while trying to make ends meet by doing several odd jobs while her husband is away working.  The cousins and neighbors she meets add interest to the story due to their crazy antics and silly nicknames like Beans, Pork Chop, and Kermit.  Turtle is an only child, and it doesn't take long to figure out that she has been the stable support system for the family, even at a young age.  Her mother left Key West before Turtle was born and has never been back.  When she cannot take care of Turtle because of her new job, she sends Turtle, unannounced, to live with the family she has never met.  Minerva takes her in, and Turtle's life begins to change in many unexpected ways.  She meets her grandmother that she thought was dead, learns how to out-wit the ice cream man, and finds out her mother had "disgraced" the family.  Eventually, she meets her father, even though he doesn't officially claim the title.  Turtle's days are spent learning to fit in, but she feels little acceptance until a hurricane unexpectedly changes things for everyone, including her mother, bringing everyone together for the first time in years.  

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
     Many elements of the plot seem almost current and timeless, as a tale of childhood in a relatively poor family.  It could be set even in modern day.  What makes the novel historical fiction is not an overwhelmingly fact-filled novel of dates and descriptions, but rather simply putting a time-period within the book itself.  There is one minor historical character involved, Ernest Hemingway, whom Turtle gives advice to, not knowing who he is in real life. Very few facts related to the Depression are even presented in the story.  The child characters do not even know they are in a "Depression."
     A timeless parallel, theme-wise, appears throughout the plot-line, as Turtle learns about trust.  Some people look trustworthy but turn out to be opposite, like Archie, her stepfather, who turns out to be a self-serving thief.  However, her estranged family actually ends up coming through for her and her mother in the end, a theme which should be universal, even though it may not always be, sadly enough.  
     Jennifer Holm does an excellent job telling Turtle's story, even though it was a fairly slow start for me.  With elements of piracy, ghosts, and childish pranks, one of the best features of author style is her use of chapter titles in addition to basic numbers.  The titles introduce the material within the chapter in a beautifully captivating manner, enticing further reading with phrases such as, "Rotten Kids" and "Can You Spare a Nickel, Pal?"
     She concludes the novel with an Author's Note, Resources, Websites, and Acknowledgments.  These additional elements explain the inspiration for her story, the connection to her family, and pictures of family members who were the inspirations behind her characters and settings in Turtle in Paradise, a unique example of historical fiction set in the 1930s Depression.  
     

AWARDS



REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

  • Horn Book Magazine, “…The episodic novel includes details, events, and figures from history (including those from Holm's own family), and Turtle's narrative is peppered with references from the time, as she compares herself to Little Orphan Annie and gladly avoids going to a Shirley Temple movie. Modern-day readers will have no trouble relating to Turtle, though, and the fast-moving plot will keep them interested to the end.” © 2010.
  • School Library Journal, “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..." © April 1, 2010
  • Publisher’s Weekly, "...Though her mother hails Key West as paradise, Turtle initially think it's a dump ("Truth is, the place looks like a broken chair that's been left out in the sun to rot"). Two-time Newbery Honor author Holmagain crafts a winning heroine who, despite her hardened exterior, gradually warms to her eccentric family members, including her unruly cousins and waspish grandmother (who Turtle thought was dead). Infused with period pop culture references, a strong sense of place, and the unique traditions and culture of Key West natives (aka "Conchs"), this humorous adventure effectively portrays Turtle as caught between her mother's Hollywood-inspired dreams and the very real family and geography that offer a different kind of paradise." © May 3, 2010

CONNECTIONS
Gather other Bluebonnet Nominee books to read such as:

  • The Night Gardener (2016), ISBN 1419715313
  • Crenshaw (2015), ISBN 12500432339
  • Whatever After: Fairest of All (2014), ISBN 0545485715



Gather other Jennifer Holm books:
http://www.jenniferholm.com/

  • The Trouble With May Amelia, ISBN 1416913742
  • Full of Beans, ISBN 0553510363

Similar Titles:

  • Hartman, Brett. Cadillac Chronicles. ISBN 19355955411
  • Bhakta, Sanjini. My Life as a Dollar Bill. ISBN 1452061521
  • Montgomery, Bobbie. Fruit Tramp Kids. ISBN 0828014221
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