Jennifer Holm is probably best known for her highly entertaining and incredibly popular Babymouse series of graphic novels about an elementary school mouse. But I like her best when she’s writing historical children’s literature, namely Our Only May Amelia, a Newbery Honor Book.

Her latest children’s novel, Turtle in Paradise, is a return to my favorite kind of literature for kids. Set in the summer of 1935, this novel tells the story of Turtle, a young girl who lives with her single mother, a live-in housekeeper. Turtle is sent off to live with her aunt in Key West, Florida when her mom is forced to take a job working for a woman who hates kids. What Turtle discovers when she is delivered to her aunt’s home is a batch of smart-mouthed cousins--all “snotty boys,”--an aunt who can hardly provide for her own children, let alone another child she didn’t even know was coming, and a whole bunch of family history that her mother hasn’t been fully honest about.

The plot of the story is really beside the point. What matters is Turtle, who’s a spunky kid, and the endless cast of characters she meets in her new neighborhood. Her cousins have a club they call the “Diaper Gang,” a group of kids who take care of neighbor babies and have a secret formula for curing diaper rash. It’s the Great Depression so everyone is struggling. The kids take their babysitting payment in the form of candy. There’s a grumpy old grandmother who Turtle doesn’t know exists, and endless adventures of the sort that kids used to have when parents let this children roam the neighborhood freely.

The inspiration for this new novel comes from Holmes’ own family who lived in Key West. This is a great summer read for a young girl or boy. The kids are believable—not sappy—and there’s enough summer adventure to keep the book interesting. ~Wendee