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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
4.5⭐️
The Turtle House is a beautiful dual-timeline tale, full of love and loss and self-discovery and complicated family dynamics. The first storyline centers around Mineko in 1940s and 50s Japan, and the second, in Texas in the late 1990s, is built around Lia, as well as her relationship with Mineko, her grandmother. I found the former more compelling, built as it was around issues of war and the immigrant experience and abuse and inequality- and love and the titular turtle house as well. The latter thread took quite awhile to become more than mere support to the former, but it did develop into something more in the end. It also helped to show the similarities and differences between Mineko and Lia’s experiences- and just how much has changed over time for women - and how much hasn’t.
What a lovely and poignant tale.
Thank you Amanda Churchill, Harper, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Turtle House is a beautiful dual-timeline tale, full of love and loss and self-discovery and complicated family dynamics. The first storyline centers around Mineko in 1940s and 50s Japan, and the second, in Texas in the late 1990s, is built around Lia, as well as her relationship with Mineko, her grandmother. I found the former more compelling, built as it was around issues of war and the immigrant experience and abuse and inequality- and love and the titular turtle house as well. The latter thread took quite awhile to become more than mere support to the former, but it did develop into something more in the end. It also helped to show the similarities and differences between Mineko and Lia’s experiences- and just how much has changed over time for women - and how much hasn’t.
What a lovely and poignant tale.
Thank you Amanda Churchill, Harper, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a very interesting family drama. I enjoyed both storylines. I was somewhat confused when it would jump between past and present, but that might be because I read it on audio.
4 Stars
4 Stars
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, War
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book caught my attention because it's set in Texas, where the author is from (I'm from Texas as well), and it features dual timelines spanning from WWII Japan to the modern-day. What I loved most were Lia and Mineko's heartfelt relationship, their challenges, and their mutual desire to support each other. Mineko's wartime experiences in Japan were eye-opening, and I found myself craving to learn more about that era after reading about her early life.
The story follows Mineko as she shares her life journey with Lia, her granddaughter, bridging the gap between past and present. The portrayal of Japan during WWII and modern-day Texas felt vivid and immersive. Mineko and Lia's bond was touching and amusing, adding depth to their characters.
Overall, this book was captivating and featured themes of love, identity, and overcoming adversity. Despite some pacing issues in Lia's storyline, Mineko's compelling narrative and the richly depicted settings made it an enjoyable experience. Special thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy.
The story follows Mineko as she shares her life journey with Lia, her granddaughter, bridging the gap between past and present. The portrayal of Japan during WWII and modern-day Texas felt vivid and immersive. Mineko and Lia's bond was touching and amusing, adding depth to their characters.
Overall, this book was captivating and featured themes of love, identity, and overcoming adversity. Despite some pacing issues in Lia's storyline, Mineko's compelling narrative and the richly depicted settings made it an enjoyable experience. Special thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy.
emotional
medium-paced
I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. It's the perfect bittersweet mix of sad and hopeful, with characters I loved reading, and with just enough focus on a historical period to make me want to research more but without making me feel like I was reading a textbook. It has dual POVs and my favorite: dual timelines.
It's 1999 in a small Texas town, and we are following Lia, a 25-year-old who has just quit her dream architect job in Austin to return home to her parents' house, and won't tell anyone why. She's forced to share a bedroom with her grandmother, Mineko, who's been displaced after a housefire. Mineko and Lia were never close before, but now that they're both adults and forced to share a space, they realize that some of the things that make them feel distant from other people are actually things they have in common, and they grow closer as Mineko tells Lia the story of her life.
Mineko's story starts in pre-WWII Japan, and follows through her youth in a small town, where she doesn't fit the mold of what a young lady should be, to the abandoned estate where she finds herself and love, to occupied Tokyo, a marriage to an American soldier, and the struggles of immigrating to post-war America while leaving her family and friends behind, all the way to present day, when her family moves her into nursing home.
As the two women get to know one another as adults for the first time, they bond over dreams lost and realized, being a woman in a man's world, the sacrifices made for those we love, and the real definition of home. If you like literary fiction, generational sagas, historical fiction, and stories of strong women, you should definitely add this to your TBR! It would make a great book club pick or buddy read with your mom or grandma. Thank you to Harper Collins Perennial and the author for the copy in exchange for my honest review!
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No