Motherhood in The Bean Trees In the novel The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, we observe how Taylor grows a lot. This young woman takes on the enormous responsibility of caring for a child who doesn't even belong to her. The friends she's gained along the way help teach her about love and responsibility, and those friends become family to her and Turtle. Having no experience in motherhood, she copes as best she can, as all mothers do. Marietta grew up in a small town in Kentucky. When she became an adult, she decided she needed a change. He wanted a different name and a different place to call home. He got into his Volkswagen, started driving, and during this trip he changed his name to Taylor. A stranger gave her a three-year-old Indian boy, whom she names Turtle, to take care of. The two finally settle in Tucson, where they live with a single mother, also from a small town in Kentucky. Taylor works for a woman who hides political refugees in her house, and Taylor becomes good friends with two of them. These two refugees act as Turtle's parents and relinquish custody to Taylor, so that Turtle can legally become her daughter. Taylor was very unsure of whether or not she would be a good mom, but she ultimately realizes that Turtle belongs to her and that Tucson is her home. It was hard to stay interested in the first half of The Bean Trees. Even though the book had a lot of action, it could have been spread out more. It wasn't until halfway through the book that we found out what was medically wrong with Turtle, why she was so lethargic. Considering that this little girl was such an important part of Taylor's life and would completely change her future, it wasn't talked about as much as it could have been. It's like half the time you forget Turtle was there. “It's funny how people don't pay much attention to what kids want, as long as they keep quiet” (280). I understand that Turtle was just dropped into Taylor's lap, but I still think Turtle deserved to get more attention than her. I wish Turtle was the little girl who was taken away from the refugees, the refugee woman showed her so much love.