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

inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Read this with my 10 yo daughter to have a mini family book club discussion.  It's decent for what it us: an upper elementary/low middle school book. Very predictable (to be expected in a book geared for this age). My two biggest gripes were the storyline (seemed like a wannabe mystery--this element wasn't developed even and seemed like it was just thrown in) and the character names. The character names were things like Slow Poke and while this might be customary for names of native Key West inhabitants, I could see it being very difficult for younger readers to keep track of all the ridiculous names.