Wow... this was a wonderful, powerful read. Hard to put down! It kept me riveted pretty much throughout and turning the pages far later into the night than I intended.

Hoffman is a natural storyteller, and her writing is beautiful and magical, but simple and clear at the same time. This is a very atmospheric novel and the characters are also richly-drawn: readers will come to care about them, plain and simple.

Reserving for the General Literature VBB.

Description from Amazon:

"The New York Times bestselling author of Second Nature and Here on Earth presents a 'captivating...truly original novel' (Cosmopolitan), the story of a divorced woman, her disillusioned teenage son, and the events that change their lives in ways both simple and extraordinary. When Keith Rosen runs away from his Florida home - inexplicably taking along a motherless baby - his mother is perplexed and terrified. She takes off on her own journey to find him. And Turtle Moon follows their path, in a 'suspenseful, beautifully written' story that confirms once again the exquisite talent of Alice Hoffman."

This is headed out to perryfran, who selected it from the General Literature VBB. Enjoy!

Received today...thanks! I recently read an Alice Hoffman novel and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to this one.

Another compelling and engaging novel from Hoffman. I've read a few of her other works, most recently The Dovekeepers and for the most part I have enjoyed them although I thought The Dovekeepers fell a little flat. Turtle Moon, on the other hand, was very magical and heartwarming and I enjoyed it very much. It tells the story of a group of people who live in Verity, Florida, and what happens to them in a very eventful month of May. It seems that strange and bad things always happen in May in Verity. Julian Cash was born in that month and spent his childhood living in a foster home when his mother abandoned him. He is now a deputy on the police force who not many people want to associate with. Then there is the divorced woman, Lucy Rosen, who leaves New York for Florida along with her now 12-year old disillusioned son, Keith, the meanest boy in Verity. But then a heinous crime occurs and Keith runs off with a motherless baby much to Lucy's perplexity. She takes off on a journey to learn the truth and Julian is there to watch over her. There is also Julian's cousin, Bobby, who died in a car crash and is now an angel residing in the gumbo-limbo trees and who is forever 19.



Hoffman is very good at creating characters that you really can empathize with. She also paints a vivid picture of life in south Florida including the various fauna and flora such as the owls and marlins, snakes, fire ants, strangler figs, and gumbo-limbo trees. I have a few others Hoffman novels on my TBR stacks and will be looking forward to reading more of her.

Sending to NancyNova in PA who selected it from the ABC VBB. Enjoy!

USPS Tracking: 9449009699937834485965

checking in. Very cool pictures in the j/e's. Thanks!

A story about Keith, a troubled boy living with his divorced mother in Florida and Julian, a troubled foster child, now a K9 cop in the town. May is a troubled month with the turtles hatching and moving toward the moon, oppressive heat and humidity that matches the mood of everyone in town. And there's an angel in the Gumbo-Limbo tree in the Burger King parking lot. A magical tale that will keep you turning the pages and rooting for the troubled kid and cop.

If you aren't familiar with Bookcrossing, take a few minutes to check out this very cool site. Bookcrossers LOVE books, and more than anything, they love to read books and then set them free for other people to find and enjoy. I would love it if you would leave a journal entry -- you can say where you found the book or how you liked it when you read it. Then, when you are ready, pass it along for someone else to enjoy!
Thanks and happy reading!