Turtle in Paradise

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm is about eleven-year-old Turtle, Turtle's mama, Turtle's aunt, and Turtle's cousin. Turtle and her mother live alone and they are trying to make ends meet during the economically difficult time of the
1930s. The Depression is widespread and good jobs are hard to come by. So when Turtle's mother, Sadiebelle, gets a job cleaning for a rich lady who doesn't like kids, she sends Turtle to stay with her aunt and cousins in Key West, Florida.

At first, Turtle doesn't like Key West. She doesn't like the heat and humidity. Her cousins are rough and tumble boys who refuse to let her take part in the Diaper Gang, a babysitting service that her cousins do for money. Her Aunt Minnie takes away her paper dolls after telling her that her Mama stole them from her so they were never her Mama's dolls to begin with. Her grandmother won't talk to her and her Aunt Minnie wants to get rid of her cat because her cat made a mess in her aunt's laundry.

But everything changes when Turtle and her cousins find buried treasure - a pile of gold coins. She and her cousins are rich. At last her Mama's boyfriend, Archie, is going to marry her Mama and the three of them will have a happy Hollywood ending. Or will they? A surprising twist ends this tale.