First of all, I should say that I don't like calling these "reviews", for many reasons. First and foremost being that I am no expert - I read these books for fun, and simply want to share what I think about them, but I have no idea what to call that. Maybe I should call it "sharing"? Oy.
 |
| image via tower.com |
Penelope Gray is a poor little rich girl in the beginning of this middle grades work. She has everything that most people dream of and aspire to - a mansion, chauffeur, chef, even a loving, if distant, family. However, she feels something is lacking on a deeper level, and makes a wish for an everything change, like the ones she reads about in books. However, Penelope soon finds out that everything changes truly do change everything.
The Grays pack up their mansion and move to a strange place in the mountains of Tennessee. There they meet a wonderful group of odd neighbors, and Penelope decides that she may just be a Penny instead. Penny discovers what it means to have a life, a family, and a community, but her discoveries don't come without their share of hardships and confusion.
PENNY DREADFUL is a fabulous read for anyone, target audience included! Laurel Snyder pulls off a sense of the deep understanding of the internal uncertainty that can come with being an adolescent. She also exhibits a refreshing ability to make the quirks of her characters feel commonplace and not-so-different - including an avid animal lover who collects roadkill so she can give them a proper burial. This book is full of people I wish I had known when I was a child, Penny included.
PENNY DREADFUL is highly recommended!
I share your opinion of the word "review" -- much prefer Book Talk! And this is a good one. I've read PENNY DREADFUL and am a fan of it for the same reasons as you. Thanks for the write-up! Oh, and you might be interested in a new blog jointly written by a group of middle grade authors (including me): smack-dab-in-the-middle dot blogspot dot com
ReplyDeleteI agree with "review" too- I usually don't agree with the real "reviewers" in all of the fancy pants library journals. So, I call them book talks! : ) Thanks for posting this. I love Laurel's books- have you read Any Which Wall? The characters are darling!
ReplyDeleteKelly
Irene- thanks for the blog suggestion! This is right up my alley!
ReplyDeleteKelly
Thanks, Irene and Kelly! The blog looks great, and I have added Any Which Wall to my TBR list :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by!