A review by mcathreads
The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed the stories of the two main characters.  The beginning of the novel was time consuming to get through because of the many Japanese words.  Some I understood why the author kept them in Japanese- there isn't a good English translation- but others could easily have been put in English.  I know someone who has 4 years of college Japanese and lived in Osaka for a year and she wasn't familiar with a few of the words.  Once I got through that section, I could get absorbed in the character's lives.  I was surprised that the author had little to say about the prejudice a Japanese women would experience moving to Texas in the 1950s.  Racism was mentioned, but I imagine the impact of characters' lives would have been far greater than implied.