What would be worse than not reading this book
about Penny, an 11-year-old with a sassy streak bigger than her home state of
New Jersey? Maybe eating her grandma Me-me’s pot roast, from the way she tells
it. Jennifer L. Holm, author of the Boston Jane trilogy, links the spirit of a
good summer with questions about cultural prejudice in this Newbery
Honor-winning book.
Penny’s
life is defined by her Italian American heritage, which is backed up in spades
by her crazy extended family. She lives with her mother and her mother’s
parents, and visits her grandma Nonny’s home to eat the best food in the world
and be spoiled by her uncles. Life is pretty close to perfect, but Penny can’t
help wondering why her mom doesn’t get along well with her Italian in-laws,
almost as if there is something Penny doesn’t know about her father’s death
when she was a baby. Then her mother starts to date again, her best friend and
cousin Frankie gets into trouble with his criminal mastermind ways, and a
terrible accident suddenly reveals more about the past than her family might be
able to handle. Will Penny be able to reconcile the two sides of her family,
and will their love for each other pull them through difficult times?
Penny from Heaven is a unique and cozy
tribute to the importance of family as well as a thought-provoking glimpse into
a time when ethnicity could cause societal fear. Although Penny was too young
to remember the effects of World War II in America, her life was irrevocably
altered by the widespread distrust of Italian Americans and others whose mother
countries fought against the U.S. While keeping the plot brisk and fresh, Holm
adds just enough historical detail for readers to appreciate both the 1950s
context and Penny’s interesting heritage.
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