Historical Fiction: Turtle in Paradise

Turtle in Paradise
By Jennifer L. Holm

Holm, Jennifer L. Turtle in Paradise: Key West Bk. 1. New York, NY: Random House, 2010. 9780375836886

Plot Summary

Turtle is to the point and not to be deceived. She thinks that "kids are rotten." She has no desire to go live with her Aunt Minnie but after Mama gets a new job as the housekeeper for a lady who hates children, she is forced to leave Mama behind and move to Key West, where nobody wears shoes and everyone has a nickname like Beans, Pork Chop, or Slow Poke. Her cousins have started a business and call themselves the Diaper Gang. They take care of the island's babies with their secret diaper rash formula. There aren't any girls allowed though, so Turtle only gets to tag along but she doesn't earn any candy. She starts to open up to them and to Slow Poke, who hired her to help out of his boat harvesting sponges. She meets mean old Nana Philly, and uses her quick-wit and determination to win over her affection. After finding buried pirate treasure and getting marooned with her cousins on an island, she is rescued and brought back to her family. Mama and her salesman boyfriend Archie have gotten married and came to pick Turtle up, but once Archie runs away with her share of the treasure, Turtle realizes that she and her mother are meant to stay in Key West with her family.

Analysis

Jennifer Holm has shed a new light on what life was like in Key West in 1935. Holm's great-grandmother emigrated to Key West from the Bahamas in 1897, and part of her story is inspired by some of the tales that have been passed down through her family. She consulted with other Key West residents about the 1935 hurricane that decimated the Upper Keys and the Shadow, which is a game that the kids play on the residents of Key West. She includes her resources and acknowledgments in the back of her novel. 

The characters and dialog in this book are believable and loveable. Each resident, or Conch, or Key West has a nickname, and through those nicknames, the readers learn more about each person. The plot of the story flows well, and follows Turtles adventures during that summer with her family. Turtle's frequent references to Shirley Temple and Orphan Annie help readers to understand the time line of this novel perhaps more so than they would by simply knowing that it was set in 1935. The addition of characters like Little Orphan Annie, which are easily recognizable, help to remember the time. They way that each of the characters walks and talks resembles the life of Key West in the 1930s. No one wore shoes and everyone knew everyone. Holm has not only created a fun tale about a girl named Turtle, but also a tale about real life events and how they affected the people who actually lived through them.

Susan Dove Lempke, writing for Horn Book Magazine said, "Modern-day readers will have no problem relating to Turtle. . . and the fast-moving plot will keep them interested to the end."

Lempke, Susan Dove. 2010. “[Turtle in Paradise].” Horn Book Magazine 86 (3): 81–82. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=518523099&site=ehost-live.

Awards

John Newberry Medal - 2011

Golden Kite Award for Fiction - 2011

Connections

This novel is sprinkled with so many hidden gems of facts that older readers would enjoy finding these and then researching more about the people or places mentioned in the book. For example, a character who appears briefly and is called Papa, is actually Ernest Hemingway, who lived in Key West at the time of the 1935 hurricane. 

For other historical fiction about major events in history:

Moore, Kate: The Radium Girls: Young Readers' Edition: The Scary but True Story of the Poison that Made People Glow in the Dark. 9781728209470

Park, Linda Sue: When My Name Was Keoko. 9780547722399

Fletcher, Susan: Journey of the Pale Bear. 9781534420779