A review by carolynf
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

4.0

I read this book with my nine year old daughter and she loved it! She really liked the protagonist, Turtle, because shes "got some sass" and isnt intimidated by boys or adults. They year is 1935 (a time we know well from the Kit Kittridge stories) and Turtle is sent from New Jersey to Key West to live with cousins shes never met. The majority of the book is about her acclimating to her new life. It is a LOT of info about Key West history and culture, which might be boring but we found that the characters kept things interesting. Of course it helps that we live in South Florida and are a bit familiar with the Keys anyway. In the last few chapters there is an adventure that involves pirate treasure and a twist ending that my daughter was really shocked by. It is all based on really family stories from this time period.