(I’m so sorry I meant to do this review like six years ago and then I started writing ‘Empty Vessel’ and ‘Slave of the Sea’ came out and ommgggg)
Penny From Heaven
Jennifer L. Holm
“School’s out for summer, and Penny and her cousin Frankie have big plans to eat lots of butter pecan ice cream, swim at the local pool, and cheer on their favorite baseball team—the Brooklyn Dodgers! But sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Penny’s mom doesn’t want her to swim because she’s afraid Penny will get polio. Frankie is constantly getting into trouble, and Penny feels caught between the two sides of her family. But even if the summer doesn’t exactly start as planned . . . things can work out in the most unexpected ways! Set just after World War II, this thought-provoking novel also highlights the prejudice Penny’s Italian American family must confront because people of Italian descent were “the enemy” not long ago. Inspired by three-time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer Holm’s own Italian American family, Penny from Heaven is a story about families—about the things that tear them apart and the things that bring them back together.:
This is an iffy summary but its Pengiun, whatdyaexpect?
Genre: Historical Fiction, Novella, Coming-of-Age
Listening Time: 4 hours
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I’ve been wanting to read this for the last four years, and now, only by the grace of Libby, have I been able to listen to it.
So, we have to start this off by saying I love Jennifer L. Holm. I praise absolutely everything she’s ever made, and I freaking adore her stuff. Baby Mouse? I grew up on that stuff. The Fourteenth Goldfish? A literary masterpiece.
Gosh, I love me some Jennifer L. Holm.
Which I’m sure you all know already.
The other thing I have to say is that I hate Newbury Award Winning stories.
Walk Two Moons was one of those I had to read in 8th grade, and I don’t think I’ve ever hated a book for being so bland than that one. Someone literally went into a Mad-Libs like Newbury Award Winner template and just inserted the names.
I listened to the entirety of Penny from Heaven, then read one review that said it definitely followed the formula and I was like… ack.
They’re right, but also wrong.
The book was really good!
Uncle Dominic is a hottie
I honestly thought that her dad was killed by the mafia. The book does a really good job of yanking your leash
Frankie is wild, my gosh
I enjoyed this book so much I actually made memes about it. I couldn’t help myself.
The book is set in the 1950’s, in small town America. Penny’s grandpa still makes war jokes about the ‘Japs’ and the French. It really encapsulates the 1950’s feeling with the fear of polio, the obsession with baseball, and the still-sour stigma surrounding the Italians (who were spies in WWII).
I really liked this book because Penny was a clever, genuine character that I could really relate to. One of her favorite phrases is, “It’s probably another thing I’ll just never understand”, and I totally relate.
Jennifer L. Holm does a fantastic job of writing from the point-of-view on an 11-year-old, and I respected how playful, yet mature, she made Penny.
From Penny’s crush, to her mom dating the milk man, to Frankie and his shanagins, this story is everything a kid’s story should be. It’s charming, it’s thoughtful, it really makes you feel.
I absolutely love Penny, I love her Uncle Dominic, I love their adventures. Sometimes I even squawked.
Penny From Heaven is a definite light read to absorb when you have the time!
Have you guys read Penny from Heaven? What did you think? What books have you been reading recently?
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