Turtle Under Ice
Turtle Under Ice
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Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Annotation: Told in two voices, sisters Row and Ariana are frozen by grief over their mother's death, years before, until Ariana leaves for reasons Row does not understand.
Genre: [Novels in verse]
 
Reviews: 2
Catalog Number: #204796
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Copyright Date: 2020
Edition Date: 2020 Release Date: 02/11/20
Pages: 258 pages
ISBN: 1-534-44295-2
ISBN 13: 978-1-534-44295-5
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2019055785
Dimensions: 22 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist (Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)

Hewn apart by the death of their mother when they were young, Ariana and Rowena have grown increasingly different and distant from each other. Row, the younger sister, plays the part of school soccer star, pouring her efforts into on-field excellence. Meanwhile, Ariana, on the cusp of graduating high school potentially failing out ces the prospect of a directionless future, while fearing that she will never truly belong anywhere. Rocked by news of their stepmother's miscarriage, both sisters retreat into themselves even more. Row doubles down on sports, and Ariana decides to take more radical steps by wandering off into the snowy night, telling no one where she went. Through twin narratives told in verse, the reader learns how both sisters nurse the still-open wound of their mother's death. While the short description may imply a thriller or mystery, the book is actually a story of profound silences and words not spoken, of secreted pains slowly and steadily revealed. Elegiac and beautiful, del Rosario's tale plumbs the deep relationships between sisters with grace and compassion.

School Library Journal (Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)

Gr 7 Up-In the six years since their mother died, Filipino American sisters Rowena and Ariana have dealt with their grief by coasting on autopilot, going through the motions necessary to keep up appearances. They even have had moments of happiness, like anticipating the arrival of a new baby sister by their likable stepmother, Maribel. But when Maribel miscarries 12 weeks into her pregnancy, the sisters' worlds come crashing down. No longer able to fake being all right, they each react in different ways. Ariana sets out in a snowstorm without telling anybody, determined to display artwork inspired by her mother at a downtown art exhibit. Rowena turns inward, rebuffing the attempts of her best friend to help her and focusing on soccer instead. Del Rosario aptly conveys each sister's depth of emotion and pain in beautifully written free verse that alternates viewpoints and helps fill the gaps in the narrative. 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. VERDICT A poignant, quiet novel in verse that will appeal to teens seeking a meaningful story. A recommended purchase. Melissa Kazan, Horace Mann School, NY

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ALA Booklist (Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)
School Library Journal (Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)
Word Count: 23,960
Reading Level: 4.7
Interest Level: 7-12
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.7 / points: 4.0 / quiz: 510508 / grade: Middle Grades+
Lexile: HL700L
Chapter 1: Row Row
When your older sister disappears

under the cover of night,

during a snowstorm,

leaving no tracks

and no trace,

someone should notice.

I noticed.

When she wasn't jockeying

for the shower.

When she wasn't sprawled

across the sectional

mindlessly scrolling through socials.

When she wasn't being

a total bitch.

But Ariana isn't here.

Her open bedroom door

exposes a tidy,

silent room

with a slightly rumpled duvet cover,

emanating the smell

of verbena-coconut body wash

into the hall.

I don't know where she went.

I don't know how long she's gone for,

but I'm afraid that

she might never return.

Because for the past few months

I feel like Ariana has become

that one station on the car radio

that gains more static

the farther away you drive,

like she is the one

driving farther away

from something.

But I don't know

what that something is,

and I don't know

where she is heading.

Maybe it's us.

Maybe she's driving

farther away from our history,

trying to find

her own future.

Without us.

Without me.


Excerpted from Turtle under Ice by Juleah del Rosario
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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.


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