Turtle in Paradise was heart warming and fun historical fiction graphic novel that revolved around Turtle who was sent to Key West to live with her aunt where she found treasure and much more. The story was about family, secrets, adventure, coming out of shell, love and friendship.

This was originally a novel written by author a decade ago. I haven’t read it so I cannot compare but that worked in my favour as I really enjoyed this story. Now I wish to read that original and other books by author.

Writing was easy to follow along with illustrations. It was told from Turtle’s POV. Her monologues in box separating the dialogues and conversations were fun to read. Illustrations were beautiful. I loved colour palate and art.

It started with Turtle was moving from Florida to Key West with her cat, Smokey, to live with an aunt she never met before when her mother got job as housekeeper and employer refused to have Turtle along with her. Her mother was dreamy, she fell in love with salesman wished to marry him soon, and believed in happy ending but Turtle was hard kid and she knew better than to believe in Hollywood kind ending. On arriving Key West, she soon figured it was nothing like Florida. There was hot weather, harrid aunt, three cousins, Pirate stories and she learned more about her family. It was fun to see where the story was going and how it will end.

Turtle was amazing 11 years old kid. She believed all kids and sometimes adults are rotten and she had reason to believe so. From what she experienced in life she hardened herself against the world who has been mean and horrible. I was surprised this young kid didn’t believe in happiness or hope. When she had to move to Key West she felt sad but didn’t even make any fuss. She was curious, smart, hardworking, logical, selfless kid and so mature for her age. It was amazing to see how slowly she came out of the shell she created around her and started enjoying her time in Key West, and how her thoughts changed by the end. I loved her for sharing what she found with her cousins even though they didn’t welcome her easily in their gang.

All secondary characters and adults were interesting to read. Family dynamic was great. I enjoyed reading about Turtles’ family, their background and even those she never knew existed. Diaper gang was fun to read. Turtle’s cousins ran this gang with their friends. It was amazing to see these kids taking care of fussing crying babies in exchange for candies or whatever moms made. I honestly couldn’t figure their secret formula for diaper rash. Their pranks were funny.

Setting of Key West and timeline of 1935 during great depression and time of Shirley Temple was well presented. It was fun to read how everyone in Key West had weird nicknames and everyone wanted some kind of job, even kids. The Pirate story, kids’ adventure and Labour day Hurricane made it even more interesting.

Climax was both fun and tense at the same time. I enjoyed every moment of Kid’s adventure, how they all stayed together, and faced tough time. What happened at the end was so sad. I could see it coming and yet felt disbelief and anger. How could someone do this to kid! and yet even with shattered dream, Turtle and her family found something much more precious than treasure.

Overall, Turtle in Paradise was lovely, heart warming, and entertaining graphic novel with amazing characters and setting. If you enjoy stories set in Key West, great depression timeline, kids and their pranks and adventure, I highly recommend this.

This ARC was offered in exchange of an honest and impartial review:
•
4*
A beautiful and heartwarming historical graphic novel adaptation of the novel by Jennifer L. Holm, with an amazing comic artist and colorist team. Full of adventures, this read will warm you up with kinship and valuable, although messy, family relationships. Very enjoyable!

Turtle in Paradise é uma graphic novel baseada no livro homônimo de Jennifer L. Holm, e com lindas ilustrações de Savannah Ganucheau. A capa me atraiu para esse livro, e eu fiquei totalmente encantada por essa garota e suas aventuras. Turtle sente falta da mãe, mas seus dias ao lado dos novos amigos, se tornam cada vez mais divertidos.

Eu não costumo ler infanto-juvenil, mas não tenho o que reclamar desse enredo. É leve, mas também mostra a realidade de um povoado pobre afetado pela grande depressão através dos olhos de uma criança. Recomendo muito que vocês leiam e conheçam essa história, o inglês é bem fácil e vai valer a pena.

Adorable! So glad to have more realistic historical fiction on the market. Kids can’t get enough of it.

This is a wonderful reworking of the amazing story of Turtle in Paradise. The graphic novel really delivers with spot on illustrations, including a retro color palette. Can't wait to put this one in my library.

I enjoyed this graphic novel! It was perfect to read in summer - the setting was nothing short of tropical! I did find the story a little dragging at some points, but all in all it was a very enjoyable read.

Really cute and delightful little graphic novel. The art is lovely and the story is sweet and full of adventures.

I recommend this for older kids/early middle grade and up, and definitely have passed this on for my spawn to read.

5/5 Cups of coffee from me, thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have not read the print version of Turtle in Paradise but I really liked it as a graphic novel. I felt like the story and characters were fully fleshed out. I loved the way the artist did the illustrations. The colors popped off the page and the way characters and facial expressions were drawn made me fall in love with them. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a story about getting to know your family with a little bit of adventure thrown in,.

This graphic novel adaptation of Jennifer Holm's 2010 Newbery Honor-winning novel is simply gorgeous. Set in 1935, eleven-year-old Turtle is a girl who's had some tough times. She's more level-headed than her mother, loves the movies, and really doesn't like Shirley Temple. While figuring out where life will take her next, her mother sends Turtle to Key West, Florida, to live with her aunt when she takes a job housekeeping for a woman who doesn't like children, and Turtle has never met her aunt or the many cousins she's now living with. She starts getting into the swing of things, following the "Diaper Gang": neighborhood boys with a babysitting club and a secret diaper rash formula that puts them in high demand. As she gets into a day-to-day groove, she learns some family secrets that leave her wanting more: more of her mother's past, more of her family history, just... more. A family study, a piece of historical fiction that examines life in Depression-Era Florida, and a strong, smart female protagonist make this a great enough story, and then you Savanna Ganucheau's artwork: filled with lush and humid outdoor spreads, we get a picture of 1930s life in Key West. Turtle's cousins run barefoot through their day, while Turtle insists on her shoes. Babysitting moments are laugh-out loud funny, and Turtle interactions with a cantankerous senior citizen will make readers chuckle and admire the girl's tenacity. Inspired by Jennifer Holm's great-grandmother's life in Key West, this is an adaptation that your readers will love and will absolutely gain the story some new fans. 


Publisher Random House has a great discussion guide for both Turtle in Paradise and Full of Beans, which continues the adventures of the Curry family we meet in Turtle.

Thank you PRH International for the gifted digital ARC.

Absolutely loved this! I haven't read the original novel that this is based on and I haven't really read much historical fiction either. I'm definitely going to take a dip in that pool again and pick this book up soon. The story and characters were intriguing. The illustrations were vibrant and added an extra lift to the overall novel. I would definitely recommend this!

Turtle in Paradise is a little different from other graphic novels for middle grades. Having been to Key West a few times, I have to say that the illustrations and atmosphere of the book portray an authentic non-touristy side of Key West. Some parts may be a little difficult or confusing for struggling readers because it takes some inferencing to figure out what is being said.

Title - Turtle in Paradise

Author - Jennifer L Holm

Genre - Historical Fiction

Received an e-arc from Netgalley. Thank you Penguin Books

Plot:

The plot is pretty straightforward. Turtle in Paradise is the story of Turtle who is sent to her aunt's place since her mother is not allowed to bring kids at her workplace. Stuck between four other cousins who treats her as an outcast, Turtle tries to settle in Key West, Florida and make her place among them and come out her own shell.

My Thoughts on the Book:

I haven't read the original novel that this graphic novel is based upon so I'm not sure how much of the book has been translated into pictures here. Though the illustrations are beautiful, the plot seemed to have lost at times while translating to graphics and hence a reader would feel lost as to what exactly is the author trying to convey.

The book does have a strong second half which apparently lifts the overall book a notch. When one does read about the times that people went through those days, it does touch upon certain emotions that people would surely relate to.

My Ratings - 🌟🌟🌟 💫(3.5 out of 5 stars)

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this graphic novel adaptation was mostly very true to the original novel, and did a great job bringing to life the setting of the Florida Keys. I don't know that I loved the illustrative style of the people, however. While the illustrator took great pains to dress the characters in the style of the day, the faces seemed a little too manga-inspired. I would have liked a bit more of an authentic style for the people. Additionally, there are some situations in which I feel like a person who has not read the original novel might be confused, or not get the full emotional impact of the situation. For example, when the kids are trapped in the shack on the island during the hurricane, I felt like that scene in the book was very suspenseful and wrought with emotion, however, in the graphic novel, it was not nearly as nerve-wrecking. Similarly, I feel like the relationship between Slow Poke, Turtle, and Turtle's mom was better developed and explained in the book, and kids reading the graphic novel will have to infer more, and might miss what is being implied. Overall, I felt like it was a good adaptation, but I feel like a few more panels in certain situations would have made it more complete.

A gorgeously-drawn graphic novel about life in Key West in the 1930s. Turtle is a cynic, but her mom, Sadiebelle, is a dreamer who believes in Hollywood endings. When Sadiebelle takes a job as a housekeeper with a woman who hates children, Turtle is sent to live with her aunt and her family in Key West. At first, Key West is awful - it's hot, there's scorpions, everybody is everybody else's cousin, the house is packed full of boy cousins, and her aunt Minerva is always in a bad mood. So Turtle finds herself living the life of a free range Conch child - helping out with her cousins' babysitting scheme, catching sponges with a guy who used to know her mom, making lunch for mean little old ladies, digging for pirate treasure...A fantastic graphic-novel version of the novel.

Fan's of Jennifer Holm's will be drawn to this full cover graphic novel version of the popular historical fiction title.

I haven't read the novel this graphic adaptation is based on, but now I want to. The setting is charming, and the plot is reminiscent of Annie or The Goonies. The author's note at the end was very helpful with contextualizing the time period, but I wish we had had more of that historical flavor in the text. I'm sure it exists in the novel, but in this graphic adaptation, I think they planned for it to all be visual.

* reviewed from uncorrected eARC via netgalley *

children's graphic novel - historical fiction (1935 Key West, FL)
Holm's historical novel (loosely based on stories from her grandmother, and a lot of imagination) is beautifully converted into graphic format by the exceptionally talented [author:Savanna Ganucheau|14030391] (from the acclaimed graphic novel [book:Bloom|39073387]). Chapters are short and the story moves along very quickly - recommended for any kids who are into the graphic format.

I love the artwork done in this book. It captures the feel and life in Key West. The story is set during the Great Depression in Key West, Florida. Many things happen to Turtle in the story; meeting new family members, finding something special and learning to live with what is given her. After reading this graphic novel I would really love to read the novel.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for an early copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. I loved that Holm’s novel was adapted to younger readers and into a graphic novel. It was a mix of life in the ‘30s, friends, family, and was laugh out loud hysterical. I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the review copy of this book. Turtle in Paradise is a novel by Jennifer L. Holm that I have in my classroom. My students have enjoyed reading it. When I saw it was coming out as a graphic novel, I was excited to snatch a copy to read. The illustrations here are beautiful, and the premise is very intriguing. Turtle is sent by her mother to live with her aunt in Florida. There she encounters new surroundings and a bunch of boy cousins. It is a very cute book and I loved the illustrations.