The Tumbling Turner Sisters

April 11, 2016
In Fay’s latest novel, four sisters take to the road in pursuit of vaudeville fame and fortune, but soon find the journey bringing them closer to each other and their own personal desires than it does to riches and celebrity. When their father suffers an injury that leaves his dominant hand useless, Nell, Gert, Winnie, and Kit give in to their mother’s hopes of developing a tumbling act that will help them make a name for themselves in vaudeville and save the family from eviction. Once on the road, the young women find love and strength in the eye-opening world outside Johnson City, N.Y. But just as the Tumbling Turners are reaching their peak, tragedy strikes and forces the family to reassess their dreams. All four Turner daughters and their mother are forces to be reckoned with; these women are keen to shake off the restrictions of their times, and they do so with relish when the opportunity comes about through performing. Their lively personalities bring to life Fay’s outlandishly enjoyable premise. With humor, affection, ambition, and a talent for weaving in history, Fay brings the world of 1910s vaudeville vividly to life through the travails of the tenacious Turner family.

June 1, 2016

In 1919, when their boot-stitcher father damages his hand and cannot work to support the family, the four Turner sisters decide to make it big in vaudeville. Spurred on by their mother, the young women develop an acrobatic act and dub themselves the Tumbling Turner Sisters. Their story is narrated in alternating chapters by middle sisters Gert and Winnie, although their voices are indistinct. Studious Winnie dreams of college, practices her first aid skills on the road, and finds romance with Joe, a young piano player from Boston. Gert, the most outgoing of the siblings, has always been popular with the boys but she puts herself in danger when she befriends an African American tap dancer. VERDICT Readers will applaud these hardworking sisters. Fay's (Shelter Me) charming fourth novel pulls back the curtains to reveal the colorful lives in vaudeville.--Catherine Coyne, Mansfield P.L., MA

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