Elle Pierre's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-penderwicks"

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What can I say? THE PENDERWICKS have found a permanent place in my heart! Rosalind, Batty, Skye and Jane are probably the most out-of-place cast of characters in a in an era where stories about "dorks" and gaining popularity run rampant in children's fiction, but their presence is all the more refreshing on any modern bookshelf.

The second installment of the series follows the adventures that take place at the girls' home on Gardam Street, as the cover description says. A letter from their deceased mother encouraging their father to start dating hits the girls hard, Rosalind especially, and the girls (under Rosalind's instruction) come up with a plan to save their daddy from the "terrifying" prospect of having a new wife, thus naming it the "Save-Daddy-Plan."

I find Rosalind an interesting character; since her mother's death, she has diligently taken the role of mother-figure to her baby sister, Batty, and well, you can see how if affects her in both books (I mean really; what 12-year-old addresses their sister as "honey"?). Her behavior to me is sort of saddening, how she was forced to grow up, but I am empathetic towards her. Batty is adorable, not annoying, like a lot of fictional baby sisters, so I can appreciate that. The middle sisters, Skye and Jane, are still odd in my opinion; Jane's writing style seems to me to be several grades above her level and Skye's unaddressed anger (she can threaten to kill someone without ever getting reprimanded for being so harsh) bothers me.

Besides that, like the critics have been saying, THE PENDERWICKS will remind you of the famed March sisters in both writing style and characteristics, and will more likely than not find a place on your shelf. I'm about to start THE PENDERWICKS AT POINT MOUETTE and honestly, I can't wait to get started!



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