Turtle in Paradise

Having never read "Penny from Heaven" or "Our Only May Amelia", i remembering hearing about this book, and thinking the idea sound very original and charming. I love Depression stories, something about the strength and determination of the people during that time I find very inspiring, and Key West? Knowing my grandmother was from there and knowing zip, zero about the area, i immediently put this...more

Having never read "Penny from Heaven" or "Our Only May Amelia", i remembering hearing about this book, and thinking the idea sound very original and charming. I love Depression stories, something about the strength and determination of the people during that time I find very inspiring, and Key West? Knowing my grandmother was from there and knowing zip, zero about the area, i immediently put this on my summer reading list. A relatively short little novel, this tells the story of Turtle. Her mom is a die hard romantic and a huge dreamer. She falls for every handsome chap who comes her way. Getting a new housekeeping job at a house that doesnt want children, Turtle has to go live with her mom's sister down in depressed Key West, whom she has never even met. This book was alright, it didnt met my expectations, but it was good. It got alot better towards the end. What i thought was strange about it was it didnt have a distinct point...it was mostly a jumble of adventures of Turtle and her naughty cousins and the mischief of their 1935 summer. I do like stories like that, but for this one, it just didnt seem to work or excite me. also, the ending was so abrupt ::SPOILERS!!!!!:: Turtle and the boys find a treasure, get trapped on an island in the infamous Key West Labor Day Hurricane (which really happened) they get rescued, her mom comes back, announces she's married beau Archie and they're moving to Georgia and buying a home and living happily ever after. Huh? THEN, Archie runs off with the money. So they have to live with Aunt Minnie in Key West, the end. ???? it just seemed a little too rushed and abrupt. It left me feeling a little like, Huh? But with all that considered, surprsingly, it made a pretty good ending. i wish the whole book had been like that, actually. but still, it was on thr abrupt, outta the blue side. ::END OF SPOILERS:: What was really interesting was the historical note the author included, all about key west during the depression. It was fascinating to learn more about this little corner of the world and its customs and lingo. So all in all, some people might love this book, some people might be iffy. It's def worth a try. I'm curious to see what Holm's other books are like, and I'm curious to learn more about the Key West. So if nothing else, this book can intrigue you and make you learn your new thing of the day.   hide