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A review by lynburn
The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill
5.0
Confession time! I LOVE stories about the Asian experience especially during WWII. The Turtle House tells the story of Mineko, a young Japanese woman during WWII and then her life in North Texas.
Interspersed with Mineko’s story is the struggle of her granddaughter, Lia, who has quit her job in Austin and has returned home to live with her family.
Mineko is a great character. She’s suffered loss but it doesn’t change her spirit. She loves hard but not in a smothering way. She takes her role as a mother seriously and does whatever she can for her children, providing for them and also sheltering them from some of the harsher aspects of life.
Ms. Churchill based The Turtle House on her own grandmothers experience. There was so much I learned from this book about the Japanese during the US occupation after the war. I also learned more of how the Japanese were treated once they relocated to the US.
This is a debut novel but it was very well written. The harsher aspects of the story were handled with so much finesse. I really enjoyed this historical fiction novel and won’t soon forget Mineko. I also loved the references to Plano, Fort Worth and Austin. It’s always fun to have been where characters go in books!
Thank you to @thoughtsfromapage , Cindy Burnett, and @harperbooks for this fabulous story! I was able to read an advanced copy as part of the Thoughts From a Page podcast lit lovers patreon first reads program and I also got to meet virtually with Ms. Churchill to hear her discuss the book.
Interspersed with Mineko’s story is the struggle of her granddaughter, Lia, who has quit her job in Austin and has returned home to live with her family.
Mineko is a great character. She’s suffered loss but it doesn’t change her spirit. She loves hard but not in a smothering way. She takes her role as a mother seriously and does whatever she can for her children, providing for them and also sheltering them from some of the harsher aspects of life.
Ms. Churchill based The Turtle House on her own grandmothers experience. There was so much I learned from this book about the Japanese during the US occupation after the war. I also learned more of how the Japanese were treated once they relocated to the US.
This is a debut novel but it was very well written. The harsher aspects of the story were handled with so much finesse. I really enjoyed this historical fiction novel and won’t soon forget Mineko. I also loved the references to Plano, Fort Worth and Austin. It’s always fun to have been where characters go in books!
Thank you to @thoughtsfromapage , Cindy Burnett, and @harperbooks for this fabulous story! I was able to read an advanced copy as part of the Thoughts From a Page podcast lit lovers patreon first reads program and I also got to meet virtually with Ms. Churchill to hear her discuss the book.