“Most people hear Japanese and think of computers or cars. I guess if one has to live with a stereotype, it’s best that it be one with a higher socioeconomic career choice? I don’t know.”

In this dual POV, dual timeline narrative, debut author Amanda Churchill vividly portrays the difficulties Mineko went through as a Japanese bride to an American soldier, after losing the true love of her life, and then coming to America to face the prejudices against the Japanese and live with her unloving husband. But my love for this story is in the relationship between Mineko and her granddaughter. I had a very close relationship with my grandmother and their bond made me think back on my time with her.

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Read if you like:
Grandmother/granddaughter stories
Dual timeline historical fiction
Banyan Moon

Thank you Cindy from Thoughts From a Page podcast and Harper Collins for a digital ARC.

Amanda Churchill’s debut novel, The Turtle House, was a delight to read, and the cover was just beautiful. The story revolves around Mineko and her granddaughter Lia. The two share a bedroom after Lia returns to live at her parent’s house in Curtain, Texas. As Lia works to figure out her life after unexpectedly leaving her career in architecture, she and Mineko spend a lot of time together. Mineko begins to share the story of her past - of growing up in Japan at the time of WW2, of her true love, and of the house with the turtles. The relationship between these two was something special to read, and I enjoyed hearing about Mineko’s life. I learned a lot about Japan during the war, the people, and even about the war brides who came to America. I also loved that Amanda Churchill used her own grandmother’s story as inspiration for her book. I highly recommend this novel!
Thanks to Harper and Cindy Burnett’s Thoughts From a Page Early Reads Program for the advanced copy of this book!

This debut novel follows the grandmother, Mineko, from the time she is a child beginning in 1936 Japan through to 1999 Texas. There are dual timelines alternating between pre-WWII Japan and 1990’s, and also flashbacks within those timelines. We get to know Mineko, what life in Japan was like during those pre-wartime days and then when Mineko became a Japanese war bride. We also get to know the granddaughter, Lia, an architect who has mysteriously returned to her childhood home and is sharing a bedroom with her grandmother after Mineko’s house burns down.

I liked that Japan was a setting as there aren’t many historical fiction novels set there during the 1940’s. This added an interesting element to this family saga. There is a precious love story, as well as an endearing grandmother/granddaughter relationship between Mineko and Lia. The story is very emotional at times and there are secrets woven throughout which propels the story forward.

I do feel the ending was open ended in some respects and I personally would have liked more closure. However, this can leave room for the reader’s imagination, and can make that part of the novel great for discussion. I also had a little bit of trouble getting into the story because the 1990’s Texas timeline didn’t exactly reel me in at first.

I’m glad I read The Turtle House and have so much respect and admiration for how Mineko endured hardship, change, and was resilient and wise. She made me smile at times with her antics. I adored Lia’s parents, and how they graciously supported her mental health. And that cover…it is absolutely stunning.

Thank you to Harper and Netgalley for the electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Cindy from the Thoughts From a Page podcast for arranging the ARC and author event through her Patreon Early Reads program.

This is a beautiful historical fiction novel about a time period and place that we don’t read much about - Japan before, during, and after WWII. It is a story that celebrates the special bond between grandmother and granddaughter, the promise of everlasting love, and the resiliency of women.

The main character, Mineko, is a plucky girl who finds a way to love in 1930s Japan, just as the WWII war machine begins taking Japan’s youth. She survives a hell on earth as bombs rain down, and through her strength, she makes her way to a new life thousands of miles away in Texas. As she reminisces with her granddaughter, the true Mineko, the one lost over fifty years before, emerges.

I just loved this book and how the author’s own family story inspired it. I was close with my own grandmother, and this novel made me appreciate her life and sacrifices even more. I highly recommend it for any historical fiction fans and those who want to read a new story about WWII.

Thanks to Cindy at Thoughts from a Page for the ARC as part of her Patreon program.

The cover of the book first captured my interest. It is gorgeous and I kept looking back at it! I loved this beautiful debut historical fiction novel told through a dual timeline about war, love, family and their secrets. I enjoyed the intergenerational relationship between grandmother and granddaughter. The story was heartbreaking, however, full of determination and hope. The ending left me satisfied and the acknowledgment by the author was a special treat to read!

I received an advanced electronic (eARC) copy from @thoughtsfromapage Early Reads Program. Thank you to Cindy Burnett and publisher Harper books. I appreciated the opportunity to preview this book.

The Turtle House is a beautiful family story that takes place partially in Japan and partially in the USA. I have read many WW2-era fiction novels, but this one had a completely fresh perspective and did not focus as much on the war but the war did play a big part in the direction the story took. We switch back and forth in the timeline from the 1940's and moving into the 1990's. The key characters are Mineko, whom we meet as a young girl and follow into her golden years, and her granddaughter Lia, who is a recent college graduate who is facing her own personal crisis while learning the story of her grandmother's past. I loved the character development, the relationships between the family members, the role of friendship, and the beautiful ending to this wonderful novel. It is hard to believe this is a debut novel, and in the author's note at the end, we learn that this story is partially based on her own family history. This books is well worth the read.

It's a wonderful feeling when you want to ignore work and chores to keep reading to learn what happens in a story, and that's how I felt about The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill. It's one of the highest praises I can give a book. The author brought her characters to life in a compelling fashion, especially the grandmother, Mineko. She and her family members and friends were portrayed as real people having both good and bad qualities. Not all authors can do that in a believable fashion. The dual timeline story traversed from Japan during World War II and thereafter to a small town in northern Texas. That immigrant journey was eye opening to me and fascinating. Ms. Churchill expertly tied together Mineko's heartbreaking experiences and courage (to move on past those heartbreaks) to her granddaughter's challenges as a young adult in Texas. Many thanks to Cindy Burnett and Thoughts from a Page and Harper Books for the ARC. I will highly recommend this book to my friends!

Coming-of-age/historical fiction stories are some of my favorites. This is a dual-timeline book, first set in the 1930s, in Japan and then, in the late 1990s, Texas. Admittedly, I struggled to connect with the latter timeline for a lot of the book. I found Mineko’s story and her love of turtles to be interesting.

One of the things I loved most about this book is the theme of wanting a sense of place and identity. Mineko is such an interesting character, and it was difficult to see her struggles in her life, her losses, and feeling ‘different’. Longing for a feeling of home.

The last 20% of the book drew me in. There are parts I just loved that I won’t spoil here. You just have to read it. The relationship between ‘Grandminnie’ and her granddaughter, Lia, is so sweet! These are some of my favorite kind of relationships.

The Turtle House is a debut for the author and I especially love the family connection. Be sure to check out the author's note.

I received an advance electronic copy of this book through the early reads Patreon program, @thoughtsfromapage. A special thank you to Cindy Burnett, the publisher, HarperCollins, and NetGalley. I appreciate the opportunity to preview this book.

This book contains a few instances of strong profanity, not frequent.

3.75/5 stars

This was an interesting exploration of Japanese woman’s life before and after WWII after becoming an American GI’s “bride”. It had me looking up all the resources the author mentioned in her notes, including some documentary films. I was drawn in by the book’s two storylines of Mineko and her granddaughter Lia as they face making decisions about the next phase of their life. They both have secrets and traumas they have kept hidden. Everyone has a back story and often we never share it with family or the people we are closest to. Churchill does a good job showing why this happens and also how sharing can allow us to move on.

I throughly enjoyed this dual timeline story from debut author Amanda Churchill. Both Mineko’s and her granddaughter Lia’s characters and voices drew me in and I couldn’t wait to find out how their stories turned out. Churchill brought WWII era Japan and late 20th century to life. I can’t wait to read more from this debut author!

Amanda Churchill’s debut novel knocked it out of the park! The Turtle House is told in a dual timeline and is based in both Japan and a small town in Texas.

Mineko/Minnie Cope is a 73 year old grandmother who is currently sharing a bedroom with her 25 year old granddaughter, Lia, after losing her house to a fire. Lia is currently living at home after unexpectedly quitting her job as an architect in Austin. It is 1999, and both women find themselves sharing this space while sequestering the secrets and hurts that led them to this juncture. Flashback to Japan and pre-World War II when Mineko is a child. The story oscillates between Texas and Japan as Mineko grows from a child to a girl in love to a married woman with two children who will move to Texas with her soldier husband. Lia grows up in Texas, graduates from UT, and lands a job at a top architecture firm in Austin. Neither woman is living the life that they had hoped for until they both discover a way to help each other.

THE TURTLE HOUSE is a beautifully written novel about family, sacrifice, and hope. I simply loved it!

Thank you to Cindy Burnett at Thoughts from a Page, Harper, and NetGalley for the advanced ecopy of this book. Publish date - 2/20/24.

This was such a beautiful story. It was so packed full of emotions, taking me from laughter to tears and back again. It's a heartbreaking and tender tale of one Japanese grandmother and her granddaughter Lia. I had a very special bond with my own grandmother and their story touched a special place in my heart. I loved how the story went from war time Japan to the more present day in Texas. We get to hear all about the characters backstories and how they came to be the people they are now. These two women had both been through some profound and sometimes terrible things, and the retelling is what draws them so much tighter together by the end. I cannot believe this sweeping story is a debut novel. I loved the author's note at the end and felt even more emotions towards the book after reading it. I look forward to more from this author in the future. Thank you so much to Cindy, from @thoughtsfromapage podcast and her early reads program for bringing this gem into my life. Cindy always seems to give me the perfect book that I never knew I needed! I absolutely cannot wait for the author chat! Thank you also to @netgalley and @harper for the advanced reader's copy.

This is a strong multigenerational historical fiction set within post war Japan and a small Texas town in the 1950’s and 1990’s. But the story is really the relationship of a grandmother and her granddaughter and what they have endured. There is a lot to discuss for book clubs. I especially enjoyed learning about Japan. It is hard to believe this is a debut, and I look forward to future books by Churchill.

Thank you to Cindy Burnett with the Thoughts from a Page podcast, the publisher, Harper Books, the author Amanda Churchill and NetGalley for providing such an enjoyable reading experience. This is a winner!

4+ stars!

“This is my place. My house, my rules, my ghosts, my turtles.”

Inspired by the life of her grandmother, Amanda Churchill takes readers on a geographic and emotional journey from rural Japan to small town (and big city) Texas. Reflected by the stunning cover, Ms. Churchill paints the opening chapters with a colorful yet subtle brushstroke as she sets the scene of late 1930s Japan. We flash forward to 1990s Texas and move back and forth, filling in the riveting plot. Typically I find this type of reading cumbersome, but in this novel it seems to represent both protagonists’ disjointed ways of living, of reminiscing, of grieving.

Mineko and her granddaughter Lia have a unique and sometimes humorous relationship and are helping one another navigate the past, present and future. They are two generations grappling with very different but similarly compelling histories. Scenes of Lia’s rise as an architect were particularly well done and the author takes great care with delicate and important themes relating to Lia’s journey. I look forward to discussing this debut with other historical fiction readers!

Thanks to Net Galley, Harper Books and Thoughts From A Page Podcast Patreon Group for the opportunity to read this in advance and discuss it with the author.

Told through a dual timeline we learn about Mineko's early life in Japan and Lia's story in the present. This is a heartwarming story between a grandmother and her granddaughter. This is also a heartbreaking story of Mineko's great love of Akio and the Turtle House. I loved both main characters and they were well developed. I really enjoyed both timelines of these women. I so loved hearing about Mineko and Akio's love story. This story was so well written I felt I could completely imagine being at the Turtle House and the pond. This was a five star read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cindy Burnett from Thoughts from a Page podcast for the copy of the book for review.

It was a wonderful debut novel that I finished late last night.
I couldn't put this novel down. I loved the generational setting of this book.
I do recommend a box of tissues because you will definitely feel these characters' pain, especially Meniko, the grandmother's.
I thought the title was unusual for a novel until I picked it up and began to read.
The author did well with the timelines, and to me, they flowed smoothly. I've really enjoyed this story.
My favorite thing was the learning of the Japanese culture a little bit before and what took place afterward.
Meniko reminds me of my own grandparents sharing their lives with me as WW2 raged on. Grandpa was a great storyteller, and I loved him for it. He was walking, living, and breathing history.
Listen to your elders. You never know what may happen. Sometimes family grows closer and that's my favorite part of all! That's the best blessings of all and this is also why I love reading debut novels such as these. They may be based on the authors' own life or family.
Authors' notes always makes a debut special in my opinion.
5 stars for an incredible read and one you'll absolutely love! I did!
I highly recommend!
My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Turtle House was an amazing debut novel by Amanda Churchill.

As a lover of historical fiction and WWII storylines, I never tire of them, and this was perfect as the novel started in Japan (I had not read many WWII stories based in Japan).

The author’s writing of weaving in two plot lines from Mineko during the hardships of the war and her granddaughter Lia in the 1990s displayed the great bond the two of them had. In some aspects their hardships were similar in what they went through.

With the author’s note explaining the novel was inspired by her own grandmother’s story, I felt it added so much depth to the story.

Both characters were so endearing and you just felt for them. I empathized so much with Lia’s reasons for leaving the architecture industry suddenly and Mineko’s marriage, her long lost love, and immigration experiences.

This novel is perfect for all historical fiction lovers, and those who want a departure from the most commonly known Europe centred plot line. I think a Read a like could be the Vietnam based novel by Nguyen Phan Que Mai - Dust Child. Both novels centre around the aftermath of marriages with the American soldiers.

Thank you to Cindy Burnett with the Thoughts From a Page podcast / Page Turners Patreon group for arranging ARC copies. Thank you to the publisher, Harper Books; the author Amanda Churchill; and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

Simultaneously a heartwarming and heartbreaking story. This book follows Lia and her grandmother Mineko looking back at past moments in both of their respective lives. For Mineko, she reflects on youth and young love in Japan circa WWII. For Lia, she shares more recent memories from her architectural school and career. Both lead characters divulge their secrets to one another in surprising ways, as other members of their family try to place Mineko in a senior care home. It's a story focused on communication among family members, and learning to understand your parents and elders as humans with their own flaws and scars too. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy. Definitely recommend this one for any readers interested in learning more on 20th century Japanese-American culture.

I really enjoyed this debut! I appreciated learning the different aspects of the Japanese culture as well as just enjoying the grandmother granddaughter relationship. I also really enjoyed how the author structured the book. It was very well written and how both timelines would weave together and reveal little pieces at a time made for a very engaging story. Thank you Cindy and Thoughts From a Page and Harper Books for this advanced copy.

This is not your typical WW2 historical fiction. I enjoyed a unique take on the genre with this story that centers around Mineko, a Japanese woman who grew up during WW2 and how the war dramatically affects the course of her life. The book alternates between two story lines, the past and present as Mineko relays her story to her granddaughter. The granddaughter’s story line was not as captivating to me as Mineko’s story and the two story lines seemed like two different books to me. I wanted to hear more about Mineko’s life. Overall this was well written, interesting, and informative. I would recommend to historical fiction readers.

Thank you to Cindy Burnett from the Thoughts From a Page podcast and Harper books for the advanced reader copy.