4 out of 4 stars
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Penny Maybe by Kathleen Martin is a book in the young adult genre. It follows the story of sixteen-years old Penny, and her latest misadventure with foster care.
There has been a chain of foster parents in Penny’s life, entering and exiting, mostly through no fault of hers. Her newest set of foster parents appear likely to keep up this trend, having their own eccentricities and arguments to deal with. Unfortunately, Penny’s options are limited as it seems that this is her last shot at a foster home. If being jilted repeatedly by prospective parents was not enough, watching her crush going out with another girl completed the painful picture. To get over her recent disappointment, Penny takes up a challenge: swimming Lake Ontario. Will she succeed in her latest endeavor, not just the challenge of surviving the lake, but finally being at peace with herself?
"My name is Penny – not the short version of Penelope – just plain old one-cent Penny. My last name is Maybe. It isn’t my real last name. It's a name I chose because I am never really sure of anything or anyone, especially myself." The author has sketched quite a quirky character in Penny, and the story that rolls out is definitely a quirky tale. Since, the book is in first person, the reader sees the world through Penny’s eyes, which is definitely an entertaining experience.
It’s difficult to decide whether one should laugh or cry while reading about Penny’s dilemmas; I did a lot of the former. This isn’t a typical inspirational story featuring an orphan. There are portions which tug at a person’s heartstrings, but they are not calculated to make the reader pity Penny. For example, when Penny feels that, “No matter how much older the lake is than me, it was sixteen years old at one time; and no matter how big the Lake is, it might not be big enough to hold all that is in me that I don’t want anymore.” This is rather a humorous tale of a teenager trying to make the best of a bad situation, aided by her active imagination.
The author has fleshed out well-rounded and believable characters. The protagonist, Penny, has a problem as she says, “I mean there is one thing you should know about me, I can never keep a secret and I lie all the time.” Penny, in her own way, desperately wishes she could be anyone else; all the stories of having a brother or losing a grandmother’s ring, is an expression of that desire, making her habit of compulsive lying pretty endearing.
The other characters are interesting as well. Dan, with his patience, love and a secret wish to become a hairdresser; Helen, who unlike Penny, hung onto one set of foster parents but was never really accepted, either by them or by her first love; Mrs. Canyon, Penny’s physics teacher, with her eccentric sense of dressing and depth of understanding; and Lisa, with her too-good-to-true attitude (which annoys Penny, and would annoy me too, I admit!); are characters which make the book even more relatable and engrossing.
This beautifully written story will appeal not just to readers in their late teens, but to adults as well, reminding them of their adolescence. Penny Maybe is a wonderful book which gets 4 out of 4 stars from me.
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Penny Maybe
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