Review: Full of Beans

Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved Jennifer Holm's Turtle In Paradise, and I've wanted to read this book every since it came out, but just never found the time until now. Full of Beans is actually a prequel to Turtle In Paradise rather than a sequel as I'd first thought, and depicts Key West during the Great Depression and the reform movement that saved it by making it a tourist destination, telling the story of how Beans and his friends came to be "The Diaper Gang".

My favorite vacation spot is an area on Manasota Key that has not yet been overly developed and still has several "Old Florida" homes built in the 40's and 50's on sizeable properties with plenty of wildlife and native tropical forest remaining, so I love books like these that are set in the pre-development days (or like Carl Hiaasen's that have a conservation, anti-development message). The addition of famous authors and artists known to visit Key West is a nice touch. Holm did her research and it shows in the feeling of authenticity the story has. The only thing I question is the use of divinity candy in the plot, as I've always heard that cannot be made on humid days, so I wonder if you could really make a decent batch in Key West.

This is a farily quick, mostly light read, even though it does touch on some serious topics like poverty and consequences from using fire alarms as a distraction, and I would recommend it for young readers from 8-12 who are open to realisitic and historical fiction; it would likely appeal to fans of Beverly Cleary's books, possibly Korman fans as well, and those who aren't quite ready for the gritty reality of some of Paulen's works.



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