by Juliette Fay
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Just released: June 14, 2016
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre: Historical
Hardback: 352 pages
Rating: 5
First sentence(s):
Vaudeville was the major source of entertainment in America from the 1880s through the 1920s.
Set against the turbulent backdrop of American Vaudeville, four sisters embark on an unexpected adventure—and a last-ditch effort to save their family.
In 1919, the Turner sisters and their parents are barely scraping by. Their father is a low-paid boot-stitcher in Johnson City, New York, and the family is always one paycheck away from eviction. When their father’s hand is crushed and he can no longer work, their irrepressible mother decides that the vaudeville stage is their best—and only—chance for survival.
Traveling by train from town to town, teenagers Gert, Winnie, and Kit, and recent widow Nell soon find a new kind of freedom in the company of performers who are as diverse as their acts. There is a seamier side to the business, however, and the young women face dangers and turns of fate they never could have anticipated. Heartwarming and surprising, The Tumbling Turner Sisters is ultimately a story of awakening—to unexpected possibilities, to love and heartbreak, and to the dawn of a new American era.
My two-bits:
Captures the time period well with the presentation of women and their experiences in the 1900's. Also, I took delight with the details of daily living and tidbits of vaudeville world.
Issues of feminism and racism are touched upon to ponder over.
The adventure into vaudeville and the colorful characters makes this an entertaining read.
About the author:
Juliette has three previous novels. The Shortest Way Home was chosen as one of Library Journal‘s Top 5 “Best Books of 2012: Women’s Fiction.” Shelter Me was a 2009 Massachusetts Book Award “Must-Read Book” and on the American Booksellers Association’s Indie Next list. Deep Down True was short-listed for the Women’s Fiction award by the American Library Association.
Juliette received a bachelor's degree from Boston College and a master's degree from Harvard University. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and four children.
* review copy courtesy of book tour sponsored by Wunderkind.
