A Book Club Recommendation! - The Tumbling Turner Sisters

I've enjoyed each of Juliette Fay's novels so I pre-ordered the Tumbling Turner Sisters. I really loved Fay's delightful departure into historical fiction. The characters, their relationships and transformations, and the setting all work together to make an excellent page turner. I'd highly recommend it for an engaging summer read or gift.

What do you do when the primary wage earner is disabled? Well, the Turner sisters answered that question by forming an acrobatic act that toured the vaudeville circuit to make the family livelihood. This book follows their career in the small and then large vaudeville houses and the many different, interesting people that they meet and become close to.

I enjoyed it very much because it centered around an era and a culture that I had little knowledge of. I found the characters sympathetic and the relationships they developed along the way honest and absorbing.

Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish! After being introduced to the characters in the first couple of chapters, I was completely vested in finding out how their story would unfold. Fay did not disappoint, taking the reader through a whirlwind tour of vaudeville weaving together fantastic storytelling with great quotes and informative facts pertaining to this unique period of theatrical entertainment. I learned a lot and had fun along the way. Historical fiction at its best!

I really loved this book! The main characters were very engaging and the peripheral characters added a lot of interest. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives between sisters. While the time period is nearly a hundred years ago, the voices of the sisters seemed current so that I could relate to the issues they faced and described. People from the past were probably a lot like people today so it was good to hear them in a voice and vernacular I understand and that doesn't seem stiff. I tweeted to the author that I wish this story would be made into a Netflix series and she tweeted me back!

Gert and Winnie are still trying to finish high school when their mother pulls them out of school to join their older and recently widowed sister Nell and their gigantic younger sister Kit on the Vaudeville Circuit. After an injury to his hand, their dad is unable to work at his regularly job stitching boots and their resourceful mother comes up with an act that will pay the bills and put her daughters in the limelight, a place she has longed to be.

The sisters discover on the road, that they rather enjoy the spotlight too and the people that they meet. Vaudeville in 1919 was an unusual band of characters with a wide variety of acts. People flocked to the theaters looking for cheap entertainment that was clean enough for families. Along the journey, Gert and Winnie will find love and danger and a world they didn't know in their hometown of Johnson City, New York.

The Tumbling Turner Sisters by Juliette Fay immediately appealed to me. I love the historical setting and the potential mishmash of unique characters along the circuit. Fay's research is in-depth and I especially loved the facts and the real characters thrown in among the fiction. I actually learned a few things that I found rather fascinating.

The characters were well developed and I appreciated that the sisters were unique enough for me to immediately distinguish between them. The story lines are timely for the historic period and by meeting a wide variety of characters and traveling, the reader is exposed to many of the period's issues.

The writing is tight and the pace is steady. Exciting things are constantly happening but it lacks the sort of passion and momentum that might have kept me reading all night. Overall, it was a satisfying and entertaining novel. It definitely made me want to take a seat in a Vaudeville theater and enjoy the show.

**I received a complimentary copy of the book. All opinions are my own. No compensation was received.**

By Melissa Amster

I originally was interested in this novel because I thought it was about a circus act. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was about vaudeville instead. This is my first time reading a book by Juliette Fay and I was highly impressed!

I loved the camaraderie between the sisters, meeting other characters from different acts along the way and learning more about them, watching unlikely friendships form, and seeing the development of the sisters' act. I learned a lot about vaudeville in the early years of the 20th century. Juliette even shares about her research in the author notes at the end. I felt like I was standing right backstage with all the Turner sisters.

My only concern is about timing. I felt like some ages and years were misaligned. (Ex. It seemed like Winnie was 17 for more than one year.) However, that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. I would have liked to hear Nell and Kit's perspectives, but I did learn a lot about them through Gert and Winnie's eyes.) I also hoped for more closure with one of the supporting characters, but maybe that wouldn't have been so realistic.

Overall, an enjoyable story that flowed nicely. Some parts made me think of current events, but I felt swept away by the other aspects and got to enjoy the escape.

My dream cast, as this would make a great movie:
Gert: Dove Cameron
Winnie: Oona Laurence
Nell: Hayley Orrantia
Ethel (mother): Amy Adams

I really loved this book! The main characters were very engaging and the peripheral characters added a lot of interest. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives between sisters. While the time period is nearly a hundred years ago, the voices of the sisters seemed current so that I could relate to the issues they faced and described. People from the past were probably a lot like people today so it was good to hear them in a voice and vernacular I understand and that doesn't seem stiff. I tweeted to the author that I wish this story would be made into a Netflix series and she tweeted me back!

Vaudeville conveniently provides fresh sets of show mates with each new location, allowing for new permutations of interactions among the Turner sisters and their fellow performers. But this book isn't really about Vaudeville: it's about people and the bonds made on the road, some transient and some life-changing. Although the book is set about 100 years ago, the friendships forged and the complicated relationships between the sisters and their parents transcend time. The book does make you think about how the world has, in some ways, changed since vaudeville times, and in other ways, hasn't changed that much at all. The ways in which people that are thrown together depend, rely, aggravate, irk and support each other has not changed at all.

This book shines in the small moments of human bonding. Like when someone understands exactly what you are thinking, sometimes even before you yourself do. Or having someone utter words of comfort along with a pat on the shoulder that truly makes you feel better. That moment, however fleeting, when one human truly and utterly understands another. I read these moments in this book and I think, yes, that's happened to me and Fay captured it perfectly on the page. The Turner sisters know each other so well, even the most subtle glance or head tilt is understood. Sometimes within the same minute, they cannot stand each other and yet they are fiercely protective of each other.

The infinitely complex ways in which people interact are amplified when the people are related. The Turner sisters, with vastly different temperaments, have an underlying bond. They literally and figuratively cushion each other. So even if they fall, they won't land on rocks.

THE TUMBLING TURNER SISTERS

The Turner family has fallen on hard times and their father, the sole bread winner, cannot work. Mother Ethel decides to take matters into her own hands and takes her four daughters -- Nell, Kit, Gert, and Winnie -- and puts them to work in the vaudeville circuit. The era is the early 1900's and times are tough. The four sisters are tight and their relationships change constantly now that they are on the road. Their act is based on tumbling and acrobatic feats. The girls work hard, leaving their old lives behind and starting fresh new ones, hoping to make some money so they won't loose their house and home.

Each sister has a unique and different personality. Your narrators are Gert and Winnie, each telling the story of their vaudeville antics chapter by chapter. The Turner family meets many different people who perform on the same circuit with them, making friends and foes along the way. The four sisters work well together, but each girl has her separate dreams and hopes for the future.

Author Juliette Fay certainly did her history homework and I loved all of the facts blended in with the fictional characters. Learning history in this way makes everything so interesting and much more realistic. The Turners acts took them to original opera houses that still currently exist. The author touched on historical events such as the KKK, women's suffrage, our country's first pregnancy prevention clinic opened in 1916, several horrible fires that occurred during this era, and a little known event that took place in Boston in 1919 wherein a 2.3 million gallon metal tank which held molasses split wide open killing twenty one people and destroying everything in its path. The author seemed to take great pains to do all of this research which helped make the book as good as it was.

I loved how each chapter opened with a quote from a famous person from the past -- Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, Charlie Chaplin to name a few. My favorite quote was from Annie Oakley -- "I ain't afraid to love a man. I ain't afraid to shoot him, either." This was a nice and interesting touch that fit right into the book.

On a side note, both the front and back inside of the book are illustrated with a group of women that are dressed for their vaudeville acts. They are just BEAUTIFUL, eye-catching, and wonderful. The artwork is fantastic! The cover of the book is great too, and will certainly grab your attention.

If you enjoy good historical fiction, great characters, an exciting story line full of plenty of action, family love, forbidden love, and an inside look at the times of American vaudeville, this is a book you will certainly enjoy. I know I did.

In 1919, the U.S. ratified the 18th amendment. The normally mild-mannered Frank Turner, who has “got his temper all twisted up about Prohibition,” marks the occasion by smashing his hand up in a drunken brawl, rendering him unable to work. This uncharacteristic moment of violence spells disaster for his family, who is barely getting by as it is.

Matriarch Ethel springs into action. A woman who “always had her nose to the wind, sniffing out ways to improve our station in life,” she sees an opportunity in the crisis. Though her four daughters --- 13-year-old Kit, 17-year-old Winnie, 18-year-old Gert, and Nell, a 22-year-old widow with an infant on her hip --- are united in their indifference to the theatrical life, their ambitious would-be stage mother will brook no opposition. The girls are to become The Tumbling Turner Sisters and make their living on the vaudeville circuit.

Juliette Fay’s charming fourth novel is inspired in part by her own family’s history in vaudeville, and she dives into the era’s rich history with unbridled enthusiasm. The book is peppered with evocative details --- the sisters dread the prospect of being assigned the “chaser” slot on the bill (the unfortunate act charged with chasing people out of the theater), eat 15-cent cheese sandwiches, smear on greasepaint, and fight unscrupulous theater owners who try to short them on pay.

As the girls learn their way around the vaudeville stage, they find themselves pushing boundaries both personal and political. From the scandalously short costumes the sisters wear to the fight over women’s suffrage, THE TUMBLING TURNER SISTERS captures an America on the verge of great social change. Though each sister at first resists performing, they soon start to see life on the stage as a means of escape, both from their domineering mother and from the limited expectations the world has of them. “We all wanted our version of freedom, every last one of us,” Gert says.

Told from the alternating perspectives of quirky, studious Winnie and brash, beautiful Gert, the book buzzes along as speedily as the vaudeville revues Fay delights in describing. (The comedy routines are borrowed from actual sketches performed at the time.) With each engagement lasting no more than a week or so, there’s plenty of opportunity for the Turners to meet colorful supporting characters and get themselves into scrapes. A few of these interludes are as pat as a worn-out stage routine. Can any modern reader doubt that obsequious fellow performer Sissy Salloway is not what she seems, or that Gert’s flirtation with an African-American tap dancer will end in anything less than disaster?

Still, following along as the fierce, feisty Turner girls come into their own is a joy. Smart, awkward Winnie secretly has her heart set on college and hopes to perhaps become a nurse. Initially, having to leave school to perform annoys her, but she begins to hope that vaudeville might provide an alternate path to achieving the independence she craves. The lively Gert immediately takes a shine to performing; she sees life as an itinerant acrobat as an escape from the strictures of home and boredom of small-town life. “[T]he greater the risks, the more alive I felt,” she muses, and she’s not just speaking of her on-stage tumbling tricks.

Each girl, along with their two sisters, and even their prickly, grasping mother, eventually gets what she longs for, though not necessarily in the way she expected, and not without some heartbreak along the way. While most of the novel is light and humorous, things take a dark turn in the third act, when the real world abruptly intrudes on a world of costumes and stage lights. Theater might be a way to escape from your life for a time, Fay suggests, but you won’t be able to outrun reality forever. And when difficulty arises, it is family who will catch you when you fall --- in the case of the Turners, quite literally.

Reviewed by Megan Elliott

I like this book, almost really liked it, but I have my reservations.

Of course, I love the time period and the content. Vaudeville in 1919. I love being transported back to such a magical era of the stage when people trouped around the country to peddle their acts. I learned a lot about vaudeville and the jargon, though there were definitely moments when it felt like the author was teaching me and not letting it flow naturally into the story.

Of course, the girl power aspect of a four sister tumbling act is fun. All the characters are pretty dynamic and unique, and I like the alternating point of view. I like Winnie's desire to go to college and her passion for Women's suffrage. What I think is funny is that the other characters talk about how smart Winnie is and how you need a dictionary to look up her big words, but I don't think her character utters a single word above a third grade reading level the entire story. Not a deal breaker, just a little detail that seemed over looked.

I enjoyed the climax of the story and it smartly used some foreshadowing and fears of the other characters, but I can't help but feeling Gert's story could have used a little bow on it. If you are into stories of this type/ time period you will like it. Good read!

I've found that I really enjoy historical fiction and there have been some really outstanding titles in that category in the last few years. And when I saw that there was this book, The Tumbling Turner Sisters by Juliette Fay, which centers around some performers in vaudeville, I knew this was something I had to read.

Fay is clearly a fan of the period and has done a tremendous amount of research to get at the heart of vaudeville - the real vaudeville, and not just the Hollywood version of vaudeville.

It is 1919 and the Turner family is just barely getting by on the meager wage Mr. Turner earns as a boot stitcher. But when his hand is crushed and he's no longer able to work, the future looks bleak. Ethel Turner, the family matriarch, takes matters into her own hands and decides that the girls, teenagers, need to perform a sister act on stage. She settles on acrobatics and sets to work training and rehearsing the girls. Gert, Winnie, and Kit are the girls still at home, and Nell becomes a widow with an infant and joins her siblings on stage.

But vaudeville has its own set of challenges and the Tumbling Turners have to learn the ropes as they go and other performers may prove to be close friends or bitter rivals.

Juliette Fay weaves so many wonderful characters into this historical tapestry and touches on many important historical moments. I found the situation with the black tap-dancer, Tip, to be most interesting, with the showing of <em>Birth of a Nation</em> and the subsequent assault on him uncomfortable prescient of what has happened in the world around the time I write this review. But I found the relationship between Winnie and performer, Joe, also quite interesting.

The history in the book really works and the characters are nicely defined and unique, but too often it just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Despite all the troubles and the worries, I never sensed the desperation that I thought was trying to be there. The girls were often oblivious to the troubles, though I could accept that given their youth.

The journey was interesting, watching the Turner's progress, and yet it never really seemed to be emphasized (though at least mentioned) that the sisters were growing up in a rough show-business setting. We learned that they were out-growing their costumes as their bodies developed, and they took to developing relationships with other performers, but I never got a sense of how Ethel felt about this.

But most of all ... I'm not sure what the story is trying to say. It's a little (fictional) slice of history, but where is the story going? What are we, the readers, to take away from this? I can't really tell you.

Looking for a good book? <em>The Tumbling Turner Sisters</em> by Juliette Fay is a well researched historical novel in the vein of <em>Water for Elephants</em> or <em>The Other Einstein</em>, but it doesn't have a clear goal for the reader.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Turners have a major problem: The year; 1919 & Mr.Turner cant work! The Turners dont have the money to pay the rent or for food! Mrs Turner has an idea, vaudeville! The Turner girls are young, pretty and have very short skirts!

THE TUMBLING TURNERS SISTERS BY JULIETTE FAY is a historical fiction novel of the life of vaudeville stars. The author has created for us a fictional family that I could have sworn by the excellent research and writing were real people. Told by two of the Turner girls, Gert and Winnie, the Turners travel the vaudeville circuit performing tumbling gymnastic routine. We meet Nell, whose is a new widow of a WWI soldier with a new child, Mrs.Turner, who dreams up & keeps the girls going from place to place ,and the rest of the family. We get to meet the people who made up the vaudeville entertainers : the French singer,the black tap dancer & many many more performers. We get a behind the stage look at what was Vaudeville!

Like I said before, THE TUMBLING TURNER SISTERS was so excellently researched & the characters are so vivid, I kept having to remind myself this was fiction!

I received this book free from goodreads in exchange for an honest review

The Tumbling Turner Sisters is entertainment in words. I love the vaudeville aspect of the story. The traveling, the shows, the performers, and of course the drama is all part of the charm of the book. I enjoyed the interactions between the Turner family and the different performers. The timeframe made some friendships taboo, yet Juliette Fay did not shy away from developing them. The ages of the performers made me concerned at some friendships yet they seemed to work.

My biggest worry in this story is the mother. I know that she was doing what she could for her family but she was so into herself. I believe she was a mother entirely living her past dreams through her children. There were times that she seemed to forget she was a mother and a wife.

Juliette Fay most certainly did her research. The stage house they worked in were real. The issues of prohibition, women’s rights, and racism were happening during this time. The reading of The Tumbling Turner Sisters brought me back in time to a wonderful era.

If you love a good vaudeville story this is definitely for you.

The Tumbling Turner Sisters by Juliette Fay is a 2016 Gallery Books publication.
This wonderful historical novel pays homage to Vaudeville while weaving a story around the Turner sisters and their many trials, life lessons, failures and successes, loves and losses.

When the Turner patriarch suffers an injury that prevents him from holding a job, his wife and four daughters work up a tumbling act and take it on the road. Along the way they have grand adventures, are swindled, conned, and robbed, but also meet exotic people, and forge deep friendships.

The author captures the time frame perfectly, showcasing the economy, the attitudes of the day, and highlights a tender, but forbidden relationship between differing races, as well as pointing out the difficulties women endured from rampant sexism, but mostly I was impressed by the Vaudeville and stage atmosphere the author do deftly brought to life.

Each of the sisters face dilemmas, heartache, disappointments and tragedies, but all of them are strong willed, tenacious, and determined to preserve, no matter what their lot in life, through good times and bad.
While I am not one to deliberately seek out ‘coming of age’ stories, I really enjoyed reading this book, and appreciated the historical details, and obvious research that went into creating the tone of the book and loved each one of the sisters, not matter which path they took, the way they took life’s lumps and learned from their mistakes, never giving up even when it would have been understandable to do so.

An inspirational, ‘feel good’ story that anyone and everyone can enjoy.

4 stars

A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher and XOXO After Dark and Edelweiss, but had no bearing on my opinion. This review is in compliance with the FTC and the store's TOS!!

The Tumbling Turner sisters is a sweet book about a bygone era and more specifically about Vaudeville. Each chapter is introduced by a clever quip by famous vaudevillians such as Milton Berle, James Cagney, Judy Garland , and Mae West. We follow four sisters as they try their hand at a tumbling act in order to save the family in dire economic times. Each sister has a unique voice and a unique set of interests and desires. With a forceful mother captaining the ship, they learn how to break out as individuals, in many cases, due to the lessons and people they meet in the Vaudeville world. There are romances, maternal conflicts, historical events, and interesting characters peppering the chapters. The author did her research and included many important issues from that time period such as the suffragette movement, prohibition and race relations , to name a few. At times contrived and a bit too repetitive, the story still had a charm and truth that resonated with this reader. I appreciated it even more after finding out that the author's grandfather was really in the business. If you are up for a sweet book that goes back to the roots of the entertainment industry in America , this could be the book for you.

Welcome to Vaudeville - a mashup of travelling entertainers - acrobats, magicians, singers, comedians, jugglers, and more. A family of young women strike out to make their mark amongst America's struggling performers. This book is a journey into the human relationships, both good and bad, of the early 1900's. It is very much a tale of poverty and the struggle to overcome its restrictions. AT the heart of the story is the mother, driven to pull her family out of dire straights and using her daughters' talents to do so. The sisters each have their own personalities and strengths, and as they travel around the country and encounter other performers, their differences in behavior and temperament bring about changes to their family and lives. There is a cast of colorful characters that add tension and conflict to the family. The sisters, their mother, their father, are realistically portrayed with faults and strengths that are ever evolving and believable.

I loved all the human intereaction in this story. It is a story that was easy to follow, easy to like, easy to read, and vastly entertaining. It is a tale of a long forgotten era in American history. It is rich and complex and highly recommended.

The infinitely complex ways in which people interact are amplified when the people are related. The Turner sisters, with vastly different temperaments, have an underlying bond. They literally and figuratively cushion each other. So even if they fall, they won't land on rocks.

Thank you to the author and publisher. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for visiting my blog, [...] where the greatest historical fiction is reviewed! For fascinating women of history bios and women's fiction please visit [...]

The following review was requested by the lovely people over at Wunderkind PR who always seem to know just what kind of books I like. :-)

The Tumbling Turner Sisters by Juliette Fay has whispers of Little Women in that the story revolves around 4 sisters who are very different but each with defining character traits. However, this story doesn't take place in the home but out on the road as the girls and their mom leap (quite literally) into the world of vaudeville. It has a strong Water for Elephants vibe in that there is a host of rich characters that crop up and sometimes fade away after only a few pages never to be seen again. The book bounces between two of the sisters: Gert (the beauty) and Winnie (the brains). It's not a jarring transition but I would have liked to see from the eyes of Kit and Nell (the other two sisters). Fay is able to weave real people (Cary Grant makes an appearance but you won't realize it until you read the author's notes at the end.) and historical events to fit into her narrative (I can't tell you what they are or it'll spoil it.). I love the fact that the theaters chosen for this book can still be visited today and I hope to get to see them in the near future. :-) Our story begins in 1919 with the family visited by two tragedies at once. One of them changes the life of a sister irrevocably and the other sets the family on a path that they never could have foreseen. As vaudeville performers, they glimpse a world that they never could have dreamed of and it strengthens their bonds while also testing their limits. There's romance, daring, anguish, and above all the lure of the limelight. My only regret is that the book ends in such a way that the reader is left feeling saddened that they may never know what became of these characters. I'll definitely be adding more of Juliette Fay's books to my TRL.

In her latest book, Juliette Faye gives her readers a glimpse into the life of Vaudeville entertainers. It is evident that she has done her research on the era as she describes what life was like for someone who earned their living on the Vaudeville stage. Life was hard and competition fierce but there was a definite camaraderie between the entertainers. I enjoyed learning more about how certain acts were chosen, the order in which they'd perform and their very unique abilities.

Faye also adds in societal pressures (women's suffrage, racism, prohibition ...) and shows that life wasn't easy for these performers - especially for women. These issues, while important to the story line and characters, were woven into the plot well and made their impact without taking over the story line of these five women who suddenly find themselves struggling to make ends meet in the very diverse and competitive world of entertainment.

The story is told via alternating points of view of sisters Winnie and Gert who, while they were quite different in temperament, were a little lackluster for narrators. I loved learning more about this era but I found the growth of the characters and lack of tension in the plot were weak points. For a book that deals with the exciting world of Vaudeville I was surprised to find that the book lags in a few parts with the focus being too much on the descriptions of day-to-day life on the road. It was during these parts that my attention waned and I never felt like the plot picked up much steam.

The characters, while quite diverse, never got deep enough to be riveting and immerse me in their lives. The girls' mother was one-dimensional as a stage mother of the worst kind and I wished we could have seen another side to her. The plot generally focuses on the coming of age of the sisters as they weather broken hearts, learn to stand up to their domineering mother and make their way in a male dominated world.

One of the highlights of the book were the quotes from famous entertainers of the time that were added at the beginning of each chapter. Many were quite humorous and greatly added to the Vaudeville feel of the time. I think that readers who are looking for a glimpse into life on the Vaudeville stage and want a lighter historical fiction read that deals with many issues of the era will enjoy this book.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Gallery Books for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is actually a coming of age story for these unique sisters and it just happens to take place on a vaudeville tour. This is well researched and hugely entertaining, just like a vaudeville act. Each act is different and each sister is different, but somehow they make it work!

If you have been following my blog for a while, you know I adore strong women characters. This book is packed full. It is tough to make it on a vaudeville tour. Their “learning” experiences are strange, to say the least. However, each sister takes their “learning” and uses it to survive.

I enjoy the way this novel is layed out. Each chapter is told in the voice of two of the sisters, Winnie and Gert. Each of these sisters are very diverse in their opinions and their reactions. There are also quotes before each chapter from famous vaudeville performers. These are an added plus.

Through work, tragedy and heartache, these sisters come together to do what needs to be done. Whether it is performing, being a friend, paying for college or even being a nurse, they have each other’s backs.

This is a story I will not soon forget. It truly took me back and I felt like I was sitting there, right along with the girls enjoying the show!

I received this novel from Simon and Schuster as part of the XOXPERTS.

Juliette Fay tells a fascinating story of a mother who forces her four daughters to develop an acrobatic vaudeville act for the family to financially survive. Alternating chapters in the voices of Gert, the pretty, sophisticated sister, and Winnie, the petite, smart sister, Fay takes us on the road with these neophytes as they learn the ropes of multiple performaces each day in small theaters in upper New York state. The author's extensive research teaches us so much about vaudeville and what was happening historically with women's rights, their clothing, their beginning emancipation from traditional roles. We are in deft hands as Fay develops a budding, potentially scandalous relationship between Gert and a Black tap dancer, balances the mother's lack of nurturance and supervision with her determination to make the girls succeed, and the development of side-bar characters who help support the sisters. The Tumbling Turner Sisters is a fun and enlightening read.

I'm not very good at reviewing books, but I try, I do enjoy letting authors and other readers know why I enjoyed this book.

As a young girl, I loved watching old movies as well as some vaudeville shows that were popular before I was even born...reading this book brought back some of those memories and I was as fascinated even more. What a great read, I absolutely loved it. The characters are so lovable, and strong-willed, the Mother reminds me of a lady I knew, that eventually became my adopted Granny, a really funny, strong woman who everyone liked. This is my first, but not my last read by this very talented writer.

An old fashioned novel filled with historic facts about the vaudeville years with actual quotes from Stars during that era between each chapter. While for the most part this book was lighthearted, it does touch on some hard subjects as well such as The Great War, racism, prohibition and women's suffrage, which all played a part in the sisters lives, but was not the focal point of the story. Fay does a wonderful job with the many characters throughout the book. A charming story of a family's love and perseverance in the face of adversity.

every once in awhile a book comes along that feels like a gift. the tumbling turner sisters was like a gift wrapped present to myself. i had not read ms. fay before and was so taken with her beautiful story and her utter humanity that i will now be on a quest to read everything els she has written. the time you spend w/ this book will make you feel love, anger, hope, despair, and ultimately you will want to spend moer time not only w/ the fabulous turner sisters, but w/ many of the other vaudevillians, esp. for me tip, that could be a whole book on its own. so grab a cup of tea, a quiet space and prepare to br transported to another era and to an author who "gets" people, who understands and lets her humanity shine, wish i could give it more than five stars. enjoy!

I did not expect such an entertaining and well written novel. I received the book from the publishing house almost a year ago but just now had the chance to read it. What a heartwarming fun adventure. Fay deftly interwove significant events of the period into the plot, giving the reader an opportunity to learn a bit about vaudeville but also about events that helped shape future building issues, specifically storage of caustic materials and fire proofing public spaces.

What a novel!! Enjoyed every word. Unique, character driven, and packed with historical times. Th novel included vaudeville acts, performers, loves and lovers, tragedy, discrimination, death, heart break, poverty, wonderful sisters, a bossy mom, singers, acrobats, dancers, and quotes from famous vaudeville stars. The story is driven by two of the sister, Winnie and Gert. Each chapter lets you know, in the heading, which one is telling the story. This was a great book and it deserves an A+++++

I was lucky enough to get an early review copy in exchange for an honest review. I have read and enjoyed all of Fay's books, but this book is special. Set in the fascinating world of vaudeville, it follows the course of the Turner sisters, who are thrust on the road and into a new life in order to improve things for themselves and their family. Delightful.

I enjoyed many things about this novel, but what I loved best was getting an inside look at the world of vaudeville. The pace, the tenuous threads by which the performers survived, the many who failed -- all seen through the eyes of two teens thrown into that world against their wishes. It's a time and place I haven't seen much of elsewhere in literature. I hope Fay writes more about this world.

An enchanting sojourn in a milieu completely new to me -- early 20th century entertainment. Juliette Fay's great gift is creating believable, sympathetic characters; in this book they live and thrive in a world that was novel, exciting, extremely demanding, and is now totally extinct. Kudos to Ms Fay for resurrecting vaudeville, and in such a fascinating way! Yes, on one level it is a glorious romp. But, of course, there's much more, as tragedy and trouble never take a total vacation from anyone. I especially appreciated the subtle touches that made the characters develop realistically as they grow in more mature understanding of themselves and each other. There's enough tension and suspense to keep those pages turning. I was sorry when The Tumbling Turner Sisters' story ended.

The cover of "The Tumbling Turner Sisters" caught my eye while I was perusing the shelves of the Brewster Bookstore on Cape Cod. I was looking for a good vacation read and the title struck my fancy immediately. I have always enjoyed historical fiction so I read a few pages in the shop before making the purchase. I am an editor by profession, so it takes something special to make me sit down and do even more reading on my free time, but I confess that I couldn't put this down. I loved the characters. I loved the era. I loved the behind-the-scenes view of life in vaudeville and all of the colorful performers who with with it. I think I was smiling the entire time I read the book. I hadn't quite finished before we left the Cape, so I read it in the car while my husband drove home. I highly recommend giving the Turners a literary tumble.

Amelia Duggan, Ridgewood, NJ

Four sisters in desperate contortions to support their family through tough times — loved the characters, vivid vaudeville history, and glimpse of the role race played in early 1900s performing world. A great early summer read! (Unrelated: Makes me want to visit these old theaters and make sure they're saved and restored.)

I LOVE historical fiction! I had never read a book about vaudeville, and certainly never expected to enjoy one! I heard Juliette speak about this book @ a literary luncheon on Cape Cod, and I remember being enthralled by the amour of research she put into this book (and have since learned she puts into all of her novels). The pure enjoyment she received from the research truly reflects in her writing, and makes it that much more enjoyable to the reader.

Very entertaining, a nostalgic ( but not sugar coated) trip back to 1919 vaudeville. The characters were all well drawn, and I loved the quotes from famous vaudevillians at the beginning of each chapter. Recommended if you like historical fiction.

I raced through THE TUMBLING TURNER SISTERS. The characters brought a feisty LITTLE WOMEN to mind in the best of ways.I learned so much about a time in history I never knew about, all while following a fantastic family drama. Great read!

Like vaudeville itself, The Tumbling Turner Sisters will delight, amaze, and surprise you. With a captivating cast of characters, Juliette Fay brings vaudeville, its players and theaters, customs and trickery to raucous life. You will smell the greasepaint, hear the music, and feel the cold, all while cheering for The Tumbling Turner Sisters to survive and thrive.

The four Turner sisters hit the road, performing a vaudeville acrobatic routine, when their father is injured and unable to work. Their mother acts as manager, shuffling them from place to place. This book was well written and engaging. It was funny and heartfelt. Overall, well worth picking up.

A coming of age story about two young women whose family starts a vaudeville act. The historic context is well researched and entertaining, the characters and plot are interesting and held my attention.

I particularly appreciated this novel for its insights into the performer's life. Delightful quotes from Vaudeville performers, tricks of the trade woven skillfully into the narrative and more. Heart-wrenching at times, I really enjoyed this story.

I loved this book. I could not put it down. Very interesting to learn about the life of vaudevillians. I really appreciated all the research and site visits to the Opera Houses she conducted in order to write her first historical fiction. I love her descriptive writing style as it really gave me a vivid picture of all the characters and locations. I loved all the references to the Boston area, the NorthEnd and Wellesley as I lived in the Boston area for 9 years. I have read all of Juliette Fay's novels and cannot wait of the next one. Keep up the great work Juliette!!!

Just finished reading Ms. Fay's newest book...I loved it! It is very different from her earlier novels (it is an historical novel taking place in the days of vaudeville), but it is written with the same heart and soul. The historical details are fascinating, as is the personal story of the Turner sisters. You know it is a good read when you start reading more slowly towards the end of the book to postpone its inevitable conclusion. I am just hoping that a sequel will follow!

One of the truly enjoyable novels I have read in a long time. Compelling story and nicely developed characters, nestled within a fascinating time period (early 20th century America). The shifting POV was a little annoying at first, and the girls were discovered a bit too quickly, but the quality of writing easily outweighs the flaws. Highly recommended.

I was totally caught up in this story, rooting for the success of the sisters with every turn of the page. I loved the atmosphere backstage at all the small town theaters. Juliette Fay did an incredible job of incorporating history into her marvelous story.

A fun book to read and learn from regarding an exciting time in American history and in the era of vaudeville. The book is chock full of cultural, family, and economic issues that impact women coming of age and their relationships. Our book club enjoyed the book and engaged in a lively discussion of discrimination,feminism and women's rights. We especially liked the quotes at the beginning of each chapter that set the stage for the action to take place! We are looking forward to more interesting books from Juliette Fay.

A beautiful written novel bringing you into the life of The Turner Family as they struggle economically in the early 1900's. Reading/learning about Vaudeville and the politics and history during that Era was fascinating. You will be amazed by what four sisters(all with very different personalities) will do to get through these rough times. The power and strength of family love trumps all! The author is brilliant! A MUST read this summer!!

This author has clearly done a ton of research for this book. When you finish you have a real sense of what it was like to be in the world of vaudeville. The sisters all have their own personality and so do all of the people they encounter in the book. This was clearly a labor of love. You always want to read on as the family gets sucked into the stage world of the time. This book hits a lot issues as well including racism and labor rights. I would highly recommend this book: there is nothing else like it on the shelves!

I've always appreciated Fay's ability to delve into characters. With Tumbling Turner Sisters, we're introduced to fascinating, multi-layered characters and taken on an eventful and engaging ride into the Vaudeville era in America. I thoroughly enjoyed Fay's transition to historical fiction. The book made me appreciate all the factors that contributed to this part of America's history, which comes to life through the hearts and minds of the Turner sisters. I look forward to Fay's next work!

I thoroughly enjoyed Fay's new novel! I am a big fan of Ms. Fay's writing and rich character development. I knew nothing about Vaudeville before cracking the cover of the Tumbling Turner Sisters. Ms. Fay does a wonderful job of intersecting her story with the social and political issues of the time. The story was exceptionally well researched, compelling and engaging. I am hungry to know more about the next chapters in the lives of all of the Turner family members!

Loved this book. It brought me to another place and time, totally non-formula - a welcome relief from predictable novels. I found myself caring about the characters and the history throughout the book made their story even more interesting. I eagerly devoured every chapter - the only thing I didn't like was that it had to end! ..The book had a great ending, but I found myself wanting to know what happened next. I hope the author writes more about these characters.

I am on my second read through - didn't want to put it down so I started again! I fell in love with the characters and found myself laughing out loud. As funny as the book is at times, it is also deeply moving and introduced me to a time of American history I knew very little about. Strongly recommend adding this to your summer reading list.

This was a very fun read! The characters and their individual stories were very interesting. Vaudeville was an interesting time in history and this gives you a good idea of what the people must have been like. Very well written - and again - it is just a fun read. Very much recommend!

I picked up this book because I am familiar with upstate New York and I have always been fascinated with Vaudeville. So I began reading the book. I stopped about halfway through.

This is when I realized that each chapter was written as one of the sisters. The characters were so generic, and the voice of each characters never changed, that I couldn't tell this before; nor could I keep any of them apart. So that's when I stopped.

Great idea, great setting, but the writing was flat and I didn't care about any of the characters at all. I got bored halfway through.

From the first page, I immediately felt as though I was a member of the Turner family tumbling through all the highs and lows of their lives. It was hard to put the book down. The end of each chapter made you want to turn the page - truly a page "Turner"! And I so enjoyed learning about the times in which they lived and the events of the day. A wonderful read!

A perfect read! The Tumbling Turner Sisters are are such believable characters, talented and flawed. Juliette's portrayal of the story of vaudeville is fascinating especially for a generation losing its connection to flesh and blood entertainment with the 'risks' inherent to live action and the potential to witness a unique moment. Nothing over-produced, digitally enhanced or synthetic in the Turner Sisters and you will be left wanting more.

I read this beautifully written novel in 48 hours! I could not put it down. I loved Gert's complexity, Winnie's dreams, and Nell's loyalty. The opening quotes by different performers was a brilliant way to kick off each chapter. The author taught me so much about the vaudeville life and growing up in the 1920s. Thank you for the extensive research on vaudeville and the time period!

This was a very fun read! The characters and their individual stories were very interesting. Vaudeville was an interesting time in history and this gives you a good idea of what the people must have been like. Very well written - and again - it is just a fun read. Very much recommend!

I picked up this book because I am familiar with upstate New York and I have always been fascinated with Vaudeville. So I began reading the book. I stopped about halfway through.

This is when I realized that each chapter was written as one of the sisters. The characters were so generic, and the voice of each characters never changed, that I couldn't tell this before; nor could I keep any of them apart. So that's when I stopped.

Great idea, great setting, but the writing was flat and I didn't care about any of the characters at all. I got bored halfway through.

From the first page, I immediately felt as though I was a member of the Turner family tumbling through all the highs and lows of their lives. It was hard to put the book down. The end of each chapter made you want to turn the page - truly a page "Turner"! And I so enjoyed learning about the times in which they lived and the events of the day. A wonderful read!

A perfect read! The Tumbling Turner Sisters are are such believable characters, talented and flawed. Juliette's portrayal of the story of vaudeville is fascinating especially for a generation losing its connection to flesh and blood entertainment with the 'risks' inherent to live action and the potential to witness a unique moment. Nothing over-produced, digitally enhanced or synthetic in the Turner Sisters and you will be left wanting more.

I read this beautifully written novel in 48 hours! I could not put it down. I loved Gert's complexity, Winnie's dreams, and Nell's loyalty. The opening quotes by different performers was a brilliant way to kick off each chapter. The author taught me so much about the vaudeville life and growing up in the 1920s. Thank you for the extensive research on vaudeville and the time period!

When I finish a book and continue to think about the characters in it - well, that's a good book. The Turner sisters came to life for me, and it was actually a bit of a learning experience to learn about the vaudeville era! I really enjoyed this story, the author did a great job of transporting the reader through a host of venues. I'm back on this site to order this for a few birthdays that are coming up. A perfect summer read!!!

I didn't just sit back to enjoy the show; I felt right there backstage with the Turner sisters and the people they meet on the vaudeville circuit. Worry, grief, prejudice, friendship, humor, love - it's all there to give a rich view of a family and a country after WWI.

This is a very well written and researched novel. Since I am from Upstate New York, thinking of vaudeville touring here in these familiar small cities in 1919 was something I never thought of. Can't wait to read her next novel

I loved this book and highly recommend it. I particularly enjoyed how each chapter highlighted one of the sister's as they wove their individual personality into the story. The relationship with each other and the friends (and enemies) they meet along their Vaudeville career are so fun, heart warming and tender.
It captivated me and I didn't want the story to end.

I flew through the pages of this fascinating book set during the Vaudeville era. It is an extraordinary, well-written story told through the journeys of the enchanting Turner sisters as they persevere through the challenges of the era to support their family and to find happiness. You won't want to miss this compelling and outstanding read by Juliette Fay!

I never thought that any book could replace my all time favorite book, Water for Elephants, on my "keep" bookshelf but Juliette Fay has done it with The Tumbling Turner Sisters. Don't miss this one folks.

I really enjoyed this book. Well written with very interesting and memorable characters. It is different from Ms. Fay's other books in that it is historical rather than contemporary fiction, and I loved the ties she included to her own grandfather's vaudeville experiences.

Could not put this book down. I liked all the sisters and their interactions with their new-found friends back stage and how they all dealt with adversity and poverty. And they all had fun being in Vaudeville. I wantef to join them. I loved the live interests in the story as well. A great read.

What's better than summer vacation and a good book? Vacation and a GREAT book! I loved Fay's characters and felt like I toured the vaudeville circuit with them. The fast pace pulled me into the story quickly. What a wonderful book.