June 15

Turtle on a Fence Post (1997) (young adult novel)
By June Rae Wood

Delrita Johnson is a 14-year-old coping with the loss of her parents in a car accident, as well as the death of her beloved, mentally retarded Uncle Punky.  Delta has gone to live with her mother's brother, Uncle Bert, and his wife Aunt Queenie  (This story is apparently told in an earlier book, The Man Who Loved Clowns, which I didn't feel was crucial to read before this volume.)  Although she appreciates Uncle Bert and Aunt Queenie and it's clear they love her, she still feels out of place in their childless household.  Aunt Queen is so organized, and volunteers her time and efforts in many settings (e.g., local nursing home, special olympics, etc), and Delta feels she's just another of Aunt Queenie's many obligations.  But the toughest part of the household is Aunt Queenie's father, a retired army sargent unable to care for himself.  He's crusty and sloppy, which creates great friction between himself and his daughter.

Delrita just tries to stay out of Sgt Roebucks's way, until a school assignment on WW2 throws them together.  She finds a soft side to the old sgt.  Besides sharing his war memories, he also cuts wood blanks for Delrita's carvings and even loans his new truck to Mr Shackleford, the father of Delrita's friend Avanelle and heartthrob Trezano.

At one point he tells Delta of his years of working on the family farm.  When his dad would plough a field and see a turtle, he'd always place the turtle on the nearest fencepost, to rescue it from being hurt by the machinery.  Then young Orvis would rescue any turtles stranded on the fence.  He likened Delrita to the turtle on a fence; she needed someone to help her overcome her grief.

This warm and touching story weaves in many subplots, including Delrita's outreach to a retarded adult at the nursing home where Aunt Queen volunteers, making peace with the student who bought her parents' old home and a little light romance.

It was nice to see kids involved with helping others.  Very likable kids and fine writing.

Young adult books have a short shelf life, and this book (written 20 years ago) is no longer available in RI public libraries, which is too bad because it's a good, well-rounded story that addresses lots of topics important to teens.  The book is still available on Amazon.