Beat The Turtle Drum by Constance Greene

For Joss, the dream of her life is a horse of her own. As luck would have it, Joss has a birthday coming up and Mr. Essig is willing to rent her any one of his horses for a week. Her older sister, Kate, is thrilled for Joss to finally get her pony, even if it is only for a week. Kate is perceptive about people, which is important because she knows it will help her become a great writer. This is a sweet and tragic story about love and loss written from Kate’s perspective of growing up with her larger-than-life sister, Joss.

This story was originally published in 1979 but I had not heard of it before. When I saw the gorgeous cover and the title, I envisioned turtles and children playing on a beach. This was nothing like that. Beat the Turtle Drum is a beautifully-written story with a rhythm that is easy to fall into. There is a banter between the sisters that I found so enchanting and it made me feel right at home. Joy and happiness just spill from the pages in the beginning and I got carried along with the waves. I could feel the sun on my face and hear the breeze whispering through the trees. It was a place of warmth and contentment, then, out of nowhere, I got the wind knocked out of me. Tragedy struck and I was shocked to the core. The pace picked up quickly after that and the book ended. I never quite caught my breath. Three days later there is still a haunting echo that I think will remain with me for a very long time.

Book Stats:

• File Size: 574 KB
• Print Length: 131 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0140368507
• Publisher: Open Road Media Teen & Tween (January 27, 2015)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00QN351AW

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Beat The Turtle Drum by Constance Greene