In Barbara Kingsolver’s debut novel, she presents us with a unique heroine Taylor Greer, a young woman from Kentucky determined to avoid becoming a pregnant teen. Taylor leaves home in a beat-up '55 Volkswagen bug, on her way to nowhere in particular. But when a Cherokee woman drops a baby in Taylor's passenger seat and asks her to take it, she does. Taylor names her "Turtle," because she clings with an unrelenting grip. With Turtle in tow, Taylor lands in Tucson with two flat tires and decides to stay. Here she meet a wonderful cast of characters, Maddie the owner of tire store, Lou Ann a divorced mother of a young boy and two undocumented workers from Guatemala. The novel presents issues of motherhood and parenting and friendship. Interestingly, though the book was written 20 years ago—the issues of undocumented people remain the same. A wonderful book—4 out of 5 stars.

posted Nov 2, 2012 at 9:30AM

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