The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill

4.1 AVERAGE

_jenniferreads_'s review

3.0
“The Turtle House” by Amanda Churchill is an intergenerational family saga spanning from pre-WW2 in Japan until 1999 in Texas. It is told through the viewpoints of Mineko, a Japanese War Bride, and her granddaughter Lia. Both are at a crossroads in their life and are dealing with the decisions of what to do next.

Given the long span of time covered in this book, there were a lot of deep topics embedded within the pages. I was fascinated with Mineko’s life pre and during WW2 and felt Lia’s storyline was an interesting parallel, but felt like neither had the depth that I needed to become fully invested. At times there were large jumps in time that you knew character growth was occurring, but you were not privy to that information. Overall this was a good book, and I loved the author’s inspiration noted in the acknowledgements and understand some of the choices the author made. I was just hoping for a little more.
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marikkuma's review

I typically enjoy historical fiction, but this book didn’t connect with me. I got to 10% before deciding to DNF it. I think part of that was due to the audiobook narrator, who made it unenjoyable for me.

litreading's review

4.5
emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

artemisia1001's review

4.75
adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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

sarahrhockey's review against another edition

3.5
challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

msf27's review

4.5
emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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: Yes

dabel's review

3.5
emotional hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

eshbeat's review

4.0
This was a really good book. I enjoyed the relationship between Lia and Minnie. I love a simple story that just follows the dramas of normal lives. The love and loss and everything in between. I did feel like there were some loose ends that didn't get tied up in the end though.

aubriesoetaert's review against another edition

4.5
emotional inspiring medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

robynwoj's review

4.5
emotional hopeful informative 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