Easy to read and very enjoyable historical fiction. Slightly predictable and most, but not all, loose ends wrapped up neatly. Included some real life historical events and the characters were likable without being too saccharine. I also learned more about vaudeville than I knew previously. So, all in all, a good read! ( )

The glamor and relentless nature of vaudeville theaters provide the setting for this novel about a group of sisters who become the family breadwinners through their acrobatic routine. The Turner sisters find their way into vaudeville through their mother's encouragement and financial necessity. As the sisters travel, they meet other vaudeville players, friendly and not, and find both adventure and disaster on the road. This novel was both fun at times and uncomfortable at others - I appreciated the author's frank descriptions of vaudeville acts which included blackface and racist language, which highlight the dark side of this world. An interesting read, especially for those interested in vaudeville in the post-WWI era. ( )

This book was on a book exchange shelf and sounded interesting. When I first picked it up, I thought it was non-fiction, but instead it is a fictional act based in a historical time. So many of the details are true, but some timelines have been altered to fit those of the author (events happening sooner than they did in real life etc.) Overall, I felt it was an interesting look into the time when vaudeville was THE entertainment to see and into life at that time.

The book has a little of everything: heartbreak, romance, success, failure.

WARNING: SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW--READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION

The book follows the Turner family--a father who works at a shoe factor, a mother who starts out as a housewife who wanted a career in showbiz and turns into a stagemother, and their four daughters. Nell, the oldest, is widowed and has a baby. Gert is headstrong. Winnie is the shy, studious one. Kit is the youngest, but the biggest/sturdiest. The story is told from the points of view of Gert and Winnie.

When their father's hand is injured in a fight and his job (along with their livelihood) is in question, Mrs. Turner decides her girls (3 at first) will enter a talent show with cash prizes. They decide on an acrobatics act. Nell joins the act after learning that her husband has died. Though they perform well, they don't win (as it seems the show is rigged to give the prize to a member's wife) but they do pick up an "agent" who starts getting them bookings in vaudeville theaters.

They discover a different type of family among the groups that make up the vaudeville circuit. Many are helpful to younger acts (a comedy duo helps the Turners inject comedy into their routines, an acrobat helps them perfect a few new stunts), many offer friendship, and a few are out and out selfish (robbing other acts to increase their own coffers).

One of the acts they meet is Delorme and Delorme (based on one of the author's relatives who actually performed in vaudeville) who perform a ballroom dance routine with some comedy bits. When the female half of the duo leaves due to what seems to be alcohol abuse, Nell steps in to take her part due to her friendship with Fred Delorme. This proves fortuitous as eventually she is the only one still performing in vaudeville because of this duo act. Vaudeville helps Nell to get away from her grief at losing her husband and helps her to see she can live and love again.

Another act they meet is Tippety Tap Jones, a tap dancer. He also seems to be the only African American on their circuit. The whole family is friendly with him, and for the most part, he is cognizant of what he needs to do to keep his place in the society and time in which he lives. For whatever reason, Gert is drawn to him, despite the impropriety it creates for the time period in which it is set. For example, Tap introduces the girls to a springboard and while practicing, Gert tumbles into him and they both end up tangled on the floor. One of the other acts, probably jealous because Tap got promoted to their spot, tells the theater manager that Tap has been acting indecently and Tap is dismissed immediately. Gert and Tap fall in love--a love they need to hide even from the other vaudevillians--but they are separated when Tap's life is threatened by racism. We never find out what happened to Tap. Gert ends up doing burlesque for a time, but there is the idea that their former agent is heading to California and might represent her for work in the film industry there. I was a bit surprised that Gert didn't want to get her high school degree and was glad Winnie pushed her to complete it. I do realize this was a different time and that completing high school wasn't always required to find a job in the 1910-1920 time range.

A third act they meet is comprised of Joe and his sister Lucy. Joe plays the piano and Lucy sings. Lucy becomes a friend to Kit and the two girls spend time together. Joe and Winnie also spend time together and it develops into a romantic relationship.

A tragic event ends the run of the Tumbling Turner Sisters. Winnie ends up going to college. We're not really told what Kit does long-term, though it seems she does go back to high school. ( )

I laughed, I cried, I loved this book - only the second book I've ever read on my phone and I didn't really notice because it was so good! The characters are believable, as is the story, and even though the book is thoroughly researched for accuracy of the time period (clothes, food, entertainment, and everything to do with vaudeville in the early 1900's, etc.) the plot is so engrossing it seemed much more like fiction than dry facts. Ironically, I had also read Juliette Fay's most recent book City of Flickering Lights before beginning this one and now I can't wait to read the other two earlier books that she's written. ( )

In my quest to discover more Historical Fiction, I've been seeking out stories that deal with concepts that I'm intrigued by. When The Tumbling Turner Sisters was offered to me for review, with its family spotlight and its glimpse into the life of Vaudeville, I knew this was something that I would want to read. Kit, Gert, Nell and Winnie beckoned to me from behind the stage. As I started to dive in, it was obvious that Juliette Faye has done her research on the lives of Vaudeville entertainers. The fierce competition, the dismal accommodations, and the sincere relationships that were struck between these travelers, all come to life on the page. If this era interests you, you're in for a treat.

One of the things I most enjoyed about The Tumbling Turner Sisters were the fascinating people that this family met on their journeys. Juliette Fay manages to create a menagerie of people for the girls to learn from. Some are good, some bad, but all are important to moving forward the lives of our featured sisters. Most of the characters I ended up enjoying the most were these secondary characters. They really brought a richness to the story that would have otherwise been missing. What's really interesting about this aspect of the book, is that it allows Fay to touch on subjects that were in the limelight at this point in time. The sisters encounter racism aplenty, discussions of prohibition, and even women's suffrage.

The problem was that, while the setting is laid out in great detail, our main characters were lacking as narrators. I didn't mind Winnie and Gert for the most part, however I never felt as endeared to them as I ought to have been. They were a little lackluster as narrators, choosing quite often to spend most of their time focused on the travel between spaces rather than the Vaudeville itself. I wanted more of the quirkiness and delight of the Vaudeville stage. Since most of my favorite characters were encountered here, I missed them when the girls were focused on where they were going, and how they would get there. It made things lag a bit.

In fact, a vast majority of this story is focused on the girls and their own individual coming-of-age stories. They love, they lose, and they weather it all by sticking together as a family. It's tough not to fall in love with a family story, especially once where sisters are so close. I only wish that the girls had been a little more fleshed out. The story tried so hard to include all of them, constantly, that it brushed over a lot of what I would have wanted to know about them. I'd have happily read a much longer book if it meant more insight into their personalities, hopes, and fears.

As a whole, The Tumbling Turner Sisters is a solid story. I think that readers looking for a glimpse into the world of Vaudeville, and into the lives of those who were caught up in its midst, will enjoy this lighter read. ( )