Penny from Heaven

First and foremost, this is a book about family. It's wonderfully written in Holm's signature style. The voice of a 12-year-old girl comes through loud and clear.

This book chronicles the everyday life of Penny, who is half Italian. Her Italian father died when she was a baby, but her Italian side of the family plays very prominently in her life. It's a large Catholic family and Penny is doted on by all of her uncles and Nonny (grandmother) who is no-nonsense and a great cook. She lives, however, with her mother and grandparents. Her maternal grandmother is a terrible cook and her grandfather is hard of hearing. She pals around town with her cousin Frankie, who is prone to getting in trouble.

I love how this book is just about the show more everyday life of a young girl. There's nothing fancy about her life which is what makes it so charming. The contrast between the Italian side of her family and traditional Anglo side is eye-opening. All of the people in her life are super interesting characters. This book is based on Holm's own mother which probably helps explain the impressive level of detail. She mentions the surveillance of Italians during WW2, which was something I wasn't familiar with. show less

Brave, smart, twelve-year-old Penny (and her friend, Frankie--who’s always trying to get into trouble) have the summer ahead of them. Penny copes with overwhelming food from very opposite grandmothers, expensive gifts from one family that the other half doesn't want to accept, and the mystery that no one will talk about.

Loved this vivid story! It made me feel like I was there—washing machine injury, oh my! Lots of body fluids from the leaky dog, Scarlett O’Hara. Eccentric people. Huge, loving family. Her big Italian family calls her “sweetheart” and "Hey princess". You can hear the voice coming off the page! It's like watching old home movies--I hear my own grandparents' voices and home movies were silent back then. :)

Set in show more 1953, this gripping mystery was inspired by Bing Crosby’s “Pennies from Heaven” and the author's own grandparents. show less

Portrait of a 1953 Brooklyn summer, with a passel of Italian relatives, an eccentric home life, and lots of secrets to uncover. Enjoyable read -- moves right along, with several big moments: mom dating the milkman after years alone, on over the top 12th birthday treat to see the Dodgers play, a treasure hunt that leads to a debilitating accident, and the truth about how her father died. Layers and stories and lots of characters to love. I appreciated that this was based on Holm's mother's life, and I think she did a wonderful job bringing the time and place to life.

Now that the New York Times has deemed it acceptable for adults to read young adult books, I guess I can review without shame.

Anyway. Penny Falucci, a hardcore Brooklyn Dodgers fan growing up in New Jersey, is having a hard time as she turns 12 in 1953 -- her father died when she was a baby; her father's family and her mother's family won't talk to each other; her favorite uncle lives in a car in his mother's driveway; her favorite cousin is a budding gangster (he thinks being a criminal would be "neat"); and her maternal grandmother, with whom she lives, is the worst cook in the history of the world. What's more, her mother has just started to date the milkman, and she's grounded for the rest of the summer because she went, against show more her mother's strict orders, into a public pool, where she's sure to catch polio. Most oddly of all, no one in the family will talk about her father or how he died.

The book is somewhat langorously paced until the middle, when Penny's life takes a dramatic turn, but the characters are so well drawn and Penny's voice is so distinct and likeable that the relatively slow narrative doesn't matter all that much. (And the reveal about Penny's father will recount about an incident in American history you likely don't likely know about already.) Nicely done, if not overly exciting, period piece. show less

Penny's real name is Barbara, but she's always been called Penny after the song lyric, "pennies from heaven." She lives with her mother and grandparents; her father is dead, but on his side of the family is a large, loving Italian American extended family complete with grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The summer she is eleven-going-on-twelve is in the 1950s, and Penny gets a chance to work at her uncle's butcher shop.

I found Penny to be a really likable heroine, and her story is charming. Amber Sealey is an excellent narrator, not only capturing Penny's voice, but also managing a bunch of Italian-accented English that still sounded like individual characters (though not having any Italian relatives, I couldn't tell you how show more accurate the accent was!). Penny's interactions with her various family members are realistic, and easily relatable. Though this is technically historical fiction, it's based at least partly on the author's own experience growing up, and the history is more of a fact of her life - such as her grandfather's experience in the war - rather than a lesson. A really enjoyable read that I highly recommend. show less

I like this book because it puts you in a different place in US history--New Jersey, 1953--AND I learned some "dirty laundry" about what the US government did to some of its citizens at that time. Penny is going through a major transition in her life that all middle schoolers (modern or in the past) can relate to, though. Definitely read the author's notes at the end, as this is loosely based on her family's stories.

Continuing my quest to read all Newbery award winning books, this one is one of the favorites. Told from the perspective of 11 year old Penny Fulucci, it contains a cast of likeable, colorful characters that are quirky, eccentric and loveable.

The setting is 1950 in post WWII small town New Jersey where Penny resides with her widowed mother and maternal grandparents. Penny's father died when she was a baby and while Penny's mother is estranged from her father's side of the family, she accepts that they are an integral part of her life. They are Italian, emotional, loving and try their best to fill the gap for fatherless Penny.

Penny's best buddy and cousin Frankie is one step away from reform school. Uncle Dominic is "pazza", which show more translates to crazy in Italian. He lives in a car. They, along with Uncle Nunzo, Uncle Paulie, Uncle Al, Aunt Gina and grandmother Nonny provide a reference for a culture rich in tradition, filled with the hope of retaining the best values of their heritage while embracing American ideals of freedom and liberty.

This begins as a quiet, unassuming book with details regarding the 1950's. Penny has a sense of humor; the characters are well developed and the reader is lulled into a coming of age tale, until, events spiral and Penny learns of the circumstances regarding her father's death.

Using information from Lawrence DiStasi's, Una Storia Segreta: The Secret History of Italian American Evacuation and Internment During World War II, the author teaches the many ways that Italian Americans were subjugated in the 1940's and 1950's.

Punished by the government for Italy's role in WWII, Franklin Roosevelt signed Proclamation 2527, thereby labeling non-naturalized Italians as enemies.

While I knew of the terrible internment of Japanese Americans, I did not know that 600,000 Italians had to carry enemy identification booklets and it was mandated they could not speak the Italian, the "enemy language."

Even though they were law-abiding citizens, the author notes that over 3,000 Italian Americans were arrested and hundreds sent to campus.

Jennifer Holm is a three-time Newbery honor winner. She is an author who provides a story and characters that stay with the reader long after the last page is finished.

Highly recommended! show less