The Turtle House : A Novel

A heartfelt and triumphant debut set in Texas about a grandmother and granddaughter who connect through the secrets they carry and the stories of a beloved lost home in Japan.

“Heartbreakingly resonant . . . a tender, bighearted story.”—Elizabeth Wetmore, author of Valentine

“Exceptional…filled with bighearted characters, delightful storytelling, and precise prose.”—Christian Science Monitor

“Written with a genuine, aching tenderness that brings both Mineko and her journey to vibrant life.”—Dallas Morning News

Mineko and her granddaughter Lia, are sharing a bedroom in Curtain, Texas, the ranching town where Lia grew up and Mineko came to live as a Japanese war bride. Both women are at a turning point, and they bond over Mineko’s stories of her early life in Japan, of the war that changed everything, and of her two great loves: a man named Akio Sato and an abandoned Japanese country estate they called the turtle house, where their relationship took root.

As Mineko reveals more of her past, Lia comes to understand the depth of her grandmother’s pain and sacrifice and sees her Texas family in a new light. Lia also recognizes that it’s she who needs to come clean—about the budding career she abandoned and the mysterious man who keeps calling. The Turtle House illuminates the hidden lives we lead, the secrets we hold close, and what it means to find home again when it feels lost forever.