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Published Feb 2020
272 pages
Genre: Poetry & Novels in Verse
Publication Information
A teen navigates questions of grief, identity, and guilt in the wake of her sister's mysterious disappearance in this breathtaking novel-in-verse from the author of 500 Words or Less - perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo.
Rowena feels like her family is a frayed string of lights that someone needs to fix with electrical tape. After her mother died a few years ago, she and her sister, Ariana, drifted into their own corners of the world, each figuring out in their own separate ways how to exist in a world in which their mother is no longer alive.
But then Ariana disappears under the cover of night in the middle of a snowstorm, leaving no trace or tracks. When Row wakes up to a world of snow and her sister's empty bedroom, she is left to piece together the mystery behind where Ariana went and why, realizing along the way that she might be part of the reason Ariana is gone.
Haunting and evocative—and told in dual perspectives—Turtle Under Ice examines two sisters frozen by grief as they search for a way to unthaw.
"Told candidly in first-person free verse poems narrated by each sister, this story of siblings navigating the world without their mother is quiet and poignant. Use of plainspoken language to illustrate the intricacies of sisterhood and explore the depths of mourning makes this accessible for reluctant readers...A moving story about sisterhood, family, and overcoming the insurmountable mountain that is grief." - Kirkus Reviews
"The lyrical writing is purposefully sparse, but the author does a fine job of building a tangibly melancholy atmosphere using few words. The girls are described as brown-skinned and their dad is Filipino. A poignant, quiet novel in verse that will appeal to teens seeking a meaningful story. A recommended purchase." - School Library Journal
"Elegiac and beautiful, del Rosario's tale plumbs the deep relationships between sisters with grace and compassion." - Booklist
This information about Turtle Under Ice was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Juleah del Rosario is Chamorro and Filipina, and lives in Colorado where she works as a librarian. She is the author of 500 Words or Less and Turtle Under Ice. Her favorite animal is and always has been a turtle.
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