Penny From Heaven

        Penny from Heaven is a wonderful book by Jennifer L. Holm. Jennifer is a very talented author and has written two Newberry Honor books. Penny from Heaven is one of these. This story takes place in New Jersey in the 1950's. The main character, Penny, is a 12 year old girl. Her father died when she was young and it caused quite an uproar. Her mother's heart was broken, and Penny's Nonny (her father's mother) was even more crushed.  Penny doesn't really know how her father died. All she knows is that it caused her mother to stop speaking to her father's family, and that everyone feels sorry for her because she doesn't have a dad.                                                          After her father died, Penny's grandparents, Me-me and Pop-pop came to live with her and her mother. Me-me's cooking stinks and Pop-pop can NOT learn to control his burps. So far, Penny's summer has been a bummer. The toilet above her bed is leaking and all the girls from her school hate her. To make things worse, she can't go to the pool or to the movie theater because she "might catch polio". On the upside she loves her father's side of the family. Her Nonny cooks delicious Italian food and Penny loves it. Her uncles are always trying to make up for the fact that her father is dead and as a result are always showering her with gifts. If it weren't for her father's family, Penny just might have gone crazy.

            Penny loves all of her uncles, but her favorite is Uncle Dominic. He just seems to understand her. Sure, he is a little strange, but that is what she loves about him. Penny's favorite thing to do is to sit in Uncle Dominic's car and listen to the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game. While she is doing this, she and her Uncle Dominic talk about all kinds of interesting things. She asks him many questions that she can't ask anyone else and builds a very strong relationship with him. Penny also loves spending time with her no-good-cousin, Frankie. Frankie is a little bit on the wild side and dreams of being a criminal. He gets Penny to do crazy things that she would never do on her own.

             This book is full of fun adventures that include a milkman, goat eyeballs, and even buried treasure.  Penny has quite the crazy summer and I couldn't wait to see what she and Frankie were going to do next.  Penny had a very contagious personality and kept me laughing throughout the whole book.  The characters are also a ton of fun. Penny's relatives are all quite nuts and just add to the plot of the story.

              This book was phenomenal and I would suggest reading it.  It had lots of surprising twists that kept me intrigued. This book is very good because it isn't very hard for a teenager to connect with. One of the main lessons of this book is that family is very important.  No matter how much they embarrass you, your family is always going to be there for you. No one looks back on their life and says, "I wish I would have spent less time with my family". Besides the lessons that this book teaches, it is fun loving and care free! No doubt an A book!