Turtle in Paradise

Turtle in Paradise is a 2010 historical fiction children’s novel by Jennifer L. Holm. Set in the Florida Keys during the Great Depression, the novel follows an 11-year-old girl’s struggles and successes as she visits her aunt and cousins in the town where her mother grew up. The novel won the Golden Kite Award and is a Newbery Honor Book as well as a Junior Library Guild selection.

This guide refers to the 2010 Random House edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

In 1935, an 11-year-old girl named Turtle catches a ride from a friend of her mother’s boyfriend, Archie, to Key West, Florida. When Turtle arrives in Florida, she moves in with her Aunt Minnie. Turtle’s mother, Sadiebelle, works as a housekeeper in New Jersey, and her current employer refuses to allow Turtle to stay with them.

Aunt Minnie has three sons: Beans, Kermit, and Buddy, the oldest of whom is Turtle’s age. Beans, Kermit, and their friends Pork Chop and Ira are members of the Diaper Gang. In exchange for candy, they babysit small children and treat them with a secret formula for curing diaper rash. They forbid Turtle from joining the Diaper Gang since she is a girl, but they allow her to accompany them if she doesn’t work. Turtle impresses them when she manages to trick an ice cream salesperson into giving her free ice cream after Beans tried, and failed, to do so. Determined to find work, Turtle eventually finds a job harvesting sea sponges with a sailor named Slow Poke. She loses the job once Slow Poke realizes she cannot swim, but he continues to treat her kindly.

As the months pass, the members of the Diaper Gang create mischief by pranking their schoolteachers as they stage ghostly visitations at night. They also tease an old man named Killie, as well as a boy named Too Bad, who wants to join the Diaper Gang. One day, the members of the Diaper Gang are assigned to take lunch to an elderly woman named Nana Philly, whom the boys find frightening. After the visit, Turtle, who thought her grandparents were dead, is surprised to learn that the woman is her grandmother. At first, Nana Philly treats Turtle unkindly, but as Turtle continues to visit her, they become friends.

Aunt Minnie’s husband, Vernon, visits for a few days; he is a construction worker who works away from home for weeks at a time. Soon after his visit, an unknown animal starts ruining the laundry Aunt Minnie is responsible for, which she cleans as a business. She blames Smokey, Turtle’s beloved cat. Even after the cat kills a scorpion that stung Aunt Minnie, she insists that Turtle send her away, so Turtle gives Smokey to Nana Philly. After finding out that Smokey was not responsible for the laundry destruction, Nana Philly has become so fond of Smokey that Turtle lets her keep the cat.

One day, Smokey falls into an old piano that belonged to Nana Philly’s father, who salvaged it from a shipwreck. As she lifts Smokey out, Turtle spots a cigar box inside the piano, which contains a map supposedly showing where Black Caesar, a famous pirate, buried his treasure. Turtle is skeptical, but she eventually shows the map to the Diaper Gang, who agree to go looking for the treasure.

Pretending that they are going conch fishing, Turtle and the Diaper Gang set out early one morning to look for the treasure, taking a boat belonging to local merchant Johnny Cakes. The map leads them to a small island with a shack on it that Turtle briefly visited with Slow Poke when they went gathering sea sponges.

After hours of searching, Turtle stumbles across a rock with a “C” carved into it, marking the location of Black Caesar’s treasure. Beneath the rock, they find a chest containing gold coins, but are shocked to see that their boat drifted away after Pork Chop failed to secure it.

Stranded, the group spends the next two days on the island hoping to be rescued, but the townspeople’s search for the missing children is delayed as a hurricane passes. Finally, they are rescued by Slow Poke, his first mate Ollie, and Johnny Cakes. After the children return home, an antiques collector pays them $20,000 for the treasure. They pay for Johnny’s lost boat, then split the remaining money among themselves and Nana Philly.

Sadiebelle, who headed for Florida as soon as she heard about Turtle’s disappearance, arrives a few days later, accompanied by Archie, who she married. Slow Poke, whom Turtle now recognizes as her father, is disappointed. Just before Turtle, Sadiebelle, and Archie are scheduled to leave for Georgia where they plan to buy a house of their own, Archie takes Turtle’s money and flees to Cuba, abandoning Sadiebelle and Turtle. Turtle and Sadiebelle are devastated, but they cheer up as Aunt Minnie invites them to stay with them in Key West. Sadiebelle renews her relationship with her mother, and Turtle is finally allowed to join the Diaper Gang. Though this is not exactly the Hollywood ending Turtle hoped for, she benefits from a newfound appreciation for strong personal relationships amid her hardships.