Turtle in Paradise: A Depression-Era Key West Adventure
Sent to live with relatives in Depression-era Key West, a tough young girl finds a world of barefoot cousins, buried treasure, and Conch family secrets in this charming Newbery Honor novel.
Jennifer Holm’s 2010 book Turtle in Paradise is set in 1935 Key West, where eleven-year-old Turtle is sent to stay with relatives she has never met. She lands among a gang of scrappy boy cousins who run a babysitting outfit called the Diaper Gang, in a sun-baked island town of fishermen, characters, and hardship. Loosely inspired by Holm’s own family stories, the novel brings old Key West vividly to life, with humor and a hunt for hidden treasure.
Warm, funny, and full of period flavor, it is a delightful read for young people and a window into a real, vanished Florida. Perfect for anyone who loves the Keys.
