Penny Maybe

by Kathleen Martin, Uda Strätling (Translator)

Penny Maybe hat kein Zuhause, keinen Freund und keinen Verstand: Sie will den Ontariosee durchschwimmen.

'In einem Buch, das ich mir aus der Leihbücherei geholt habe, heißt es, der Ontariosee sei 271 Meter tief, 288 Kilometer lang und 85 Kilometer breit. Mein jetziges Schlafzimmer ist drei Meter tief, drei Meter lang und dreieinhalb Meter breit. Der Ontariosee ist ungefähr 15000 Jahre alt - 14984 Jahre älter als ich. Mir ist schon klar, daß ein Vergleich zwischen mir beziehungsweise meinem Schlafzimmer und dem Ontariosee ungefähr so ist, als wollte man einen Bleistift mit einem Computer vergleichen, aber ich finde es trotzdem ganz aufschlußreich. Und egal, wie viele Jahre der See mir voraushat, irgendwann einmal war auch er sechzehn Jahre alt; und egal, wie groß der See ist, vielleicht ist er trotzdem nicht groß genug, um all das von mir aufzunehmen, was ich nicht mehr haben will.'

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult

184 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

NOVELS
THE STARS ARE MADE OF TEARS
THE HALLELUIAH BABY
PENNY MAYBE

TELEVISION:

EACH MAN’S SON

TEAM SPIRIT

I'LL NEVER GET TO HEAVEN

Two-hour teleplay produced by the C.B.C. Aired January 3lst l993 and April 23, 1995. Currently being aired in the U.S. by Trio and has received numerous other international broadcasts.

FILM

THE MERRY WOMEN OF SHERWOOD PARK

STAGE:
LEARN BY HEART
ACE
PLACES OF WAITING

AWARDS:

Best Screen writing Award from the Film Council of Greater Columbus, Columbus, Ohio, for "I'll Never Get to Heaven." Presented at the 4lst Columbus International Film and Video Festival, October 28, l993.

Play writing competition awards for "Ace" and "House of Isabel", sponsored by Smile Company, Toronto, through the Ontario Arts Council, l980, l982.

National Play writing Competition award for "Places of Waiting" sponsored by Fireweed, l979.

NOMINATIONS:

Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for "I'll Never Get To Heaven", 1994 Prix Gemini Awards, Toronto, Ontario.

“I’ll Never Get to Heaven” also garnered five other Gemini nominations: Best, T.V. Movie, (Producer, Flora Macdonald), Best Actress (Wendy Crewson) , Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Susan Wright), Best Costume Design (Francis Dafoe)

Best Production Design or Art Direction (Perri Gorrara and Ane Christensen)*

*Received the Gemini Award. .

email: Martinkathleen54@gmail.com

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately, my reviews seem to be disappearing so I will try to recreate them. My thanks to the author, Kathleen Martin, and the publisher, R. McDuffie Publishing, for my ebook. This is the story of an orphaned young woman navigating the foster care system. She finally finds a place to call home with emotionally volatile foster parents and encouraging teachers. This is a good story with many teenage emotions. Enjoyable ans emotiinal read for anyone.

[♏ Gina☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and I thank the author and publishing company.

Penny maybe is about a very broken 16-year-old girl who has fallen through the cracks of the system, having been thrown from one foster family to another, most of which were not (putting it mildly) pleasant nor in her best interest. Penny become adept at lying, stealing, and doing things that continually get her kicked out of homes, schools, whatever...anything to keep going and try to get that family she dreams of.

The book begins as she is taken in by yet another couple who are in the midst of an extremely dysfunctional marriage, who hope that taking in a foster child will be the answer to what ails them. It fails miserably, as it must. Penny does begin to care for Dan, whom she calls "dad" in private. Penny also dreams of being a marathon swimmer.

I think young adults would enjoy getting into the mind of the teenager who is Penny - an adult by actions but a needy child underneath the bravado.

[Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penny is part of the foster system. Her parents died in a car crash but it wasn't a big loss as they didn't really care to have a child. So now Penny bounces around to different homes because either the home is bad or she is not very nice to the family. Then she is placed into Dan and Helen's house, a mixed race childless couple. Dan is a plumber and Helen is a librarian. sixteen-year-old Penny doesn't like Helen who is strict and a little off balanced. Dan tries to be a friend and is the one who wanted to be a foster parent. Penny knows how to act with adults but lies a lot. She has an obsession with swimming Lake Ontario. She has different reasons. A girl in her class, Lisa, becomes Penny's friend against Penny's objections. She doesn't really know what it's like to have a friend. She seems like she hasn't had any positive adult guidance either until Helen and her teacher Mrs. Canyon come into her life. I thought the relationship between Helen and Mrs. Canyon was funny. There is destruction following Penny wherever she goes. Some people let her get away with it and some call her on it. I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride with Penny. I didn't know what she was going to do and if she even knew how to think about the consequences. This was a little choppy and there were a ton of errors but it was a pretty good short story about how the foster system has affected one teenage girl.

I won this on Goodreads.

[Johnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was interesting. I liked the book. It was kind of sad and I felt sorry for the characters. It was well written in that the author made me feel like the characters were real and I've probably known some characters with similar lives. It was a quick read and perfect for a few quiet evenings. I'm looking forward to what Ms. Martin writes next.

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penny has been in foster care after her disfunctional
Parents die in a car crash. This book was so true to life
and also sad. You will cheer for the hero as I did. Really
good book. I received a ARC.

[Three O'Clock Press]

Writing from a witty and sardonic adult perspective, Kathleen Martin explores the turmoil of adolescence in this highly original first novel. Since age seven, Penny Maybe has lived in one foster home after another, making her skeptical of just about everything. Arriving at yet another new "home," she expects that eventually something will go wrong and she'll be back at the foster-kid depot. Despite living with quirky and emotionally unstable foster parents, Penny remains undaunted, and decides that the ultimate way to find herself is to do something remarkable - swim Lake Ontario. In a world where adults behave like adolescents, sixteen-year-old Penny will take us back to what we may have forgotten: that first kisses sound like Debussy, that Freddie Mercury ranks up there with God and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and that loneliness is just a regular slice of life.

[Kristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this novel through a Goodreads giveaway a while back and just got around to finishing it. I enjoyed the point of view that it's told through. The narrative is written through the eyes of a damaged sixteen-year-old named Penny, and certainly reads that way. Unfortunately it lacks a level of emotional depth, which could be read as Penny distancing herself from the situations she's in, but makes it difficult to connect to some of the more dramatic scenes. Some of the chapters are very, very short (less than a page), which doesn't necessarily add or detract from the story but is a bit distracting. Nonetheless I did get invested in Penny's story and curious about where it would end up. The ending, however, felt rather vague and rushed, and was overall unfulfilling.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

After many requests to receive this book, at long last did. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.
At first I was not sure I was going to like it, but as the story of Penny developed, I really liked it. The story was well done, a few bumps here and there, but even the surprise ending did not throw me. I will read this author again.
The story is a sad one; the story of foster girl Penny and people who orbit around trying to help and love her. Penny lies, cheats and steals, but what's not to like? She is also wants to swim Lake Ontario.
In spite of herself, Penny develops friendships, and maybe, just maybe, she will get a sense of love and get her life on track.
What's next for Penny? I'm sure good things but lots of bumps as people do not change overnight

[Meyers Cooper Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Source: Goodreads Giveway

"The idea of swimming Lake Ontario came to me after I split up with Chester, my boyfriend."

The good: This was a short read. I didn't spend days reading it, just one. I'm not sure I would have been able to stick with it if it weren't for knowing there were less than 200 pages in the book. The ending left the reader with hope that things could possibly work out for Penny.

The bad: I had a difficult time liking the characters. I did say that it was good the book was so short but that came at the cost of adding some depth to the characters.

The ugly: The grammar mistakes! It's a pet peeve of mine. I'm a teacher. I'm not supposed to want to get out my red pen when I'm reading a book. :(

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book free from Goodreads giveaways.

This book is about a girl named Penny who is in high school and is a foster kid. She is very immature and has an unrealistic dream to swim lake Ontario. During the story she is placed with a new family, has a crush on a guy who isn't what he seems, and makes unexpected friend. When her foster parents separate she makes a lot of bad decisions but ends up learning from them. Over the course of the book she plans for dream and learns people aren't always what they first seem.

[Linda Epach · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed. We have a young reader in the house who reads far above her level but is still young, so I read a lot of YA to pre-screen because sometimes the books are a little too adult. This was one of my least favorite all year, but it did not have to be that way. It is just that the characters are not at all likeable, with the exception of one teacher and the language is a little rough, while it may be realistic that a young girl tossed around so many foster care homes might talk that way, I can not in good faith give a tween a book that is so liberal with the f word.

[Raphaela Strohmayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not for me. I either missed the humor in it or it was just a story with a bad beginning a bad middle and an okay end. At no point could I emphazise with the main Charakter Penny. HEr choices were mostly random and her surrondings were awful. I really hope the Foster Care System ins not like portrayed in this book, if so i really dont wanna see that side displayed in such a way. I had hopes that Penny would manage to get out of this situation but i thing she didnt, thats why i disliked the end!

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads Kindle Copy Win

This is a story of a teenage girl in a foster home who decides to swim Lake Ontario. Her life is a mess where her foster parents are less than stable. She falls in love with a guy who will ultimately reject her.

She sets a goal to swim Lake Ontario knowing it is not a realistic task as away to keep her focus from her life. A story of setting challenges and at least trying to accomplish them.

[Carrie Echols · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penny Maybe

I received this kindle book from a Goodreads giveaway. This is a story about a teenage girl growing up in foster care. It's mostly about all the crazy thoughts in her head, and her dysfunctional life. Actually, it's downright hilarious at times, and I laughed out loud several times! But someone really needed to proofread and edit it, cause there's lots of errors. Otherwise, I enjoyed the humor.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

I rate this two stars only because it started out with a good deal of promise. Unfortunately, from there it fell completely flat. I didn't really see that there was much of a point other than some teen angst and a lot of misplaced adult hostility, and the ending was a complete anticlimax. That's too bad, because I really had high hopes after the first few chapters.

[Amber Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. In the beginning, I liked the story for the most part but I found it very choppy. I was not a big fan of any of the characters really. The ending was bad. Really bad. It ended so abruptly and left several situations completely unresolved. It left me extremely disappointed.

[Nancie Lafferty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this poor, foster-care battered teenager! I laughed out loud any number of times at her clever comebacks. Tough, vulnerable and so very intelligent budding woman, but filled with teen angst. Long, hard row to hoe, but she will overcome. (I received this book as a giveaway, for which I thank the author and Goodreads. Kindle edition had lots of errors; needs proof-reading and repair.)

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this in a Kindle Goodreads giveaway. I did not care for this story.

[Joy Rosales · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this ebook in a Goodreads giveaway. This story was messy, but I loved that about it. It reminded me of a YA version of Luster by Raven Leilani.

[Fiestymomof5kids · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book

[Nancie Lafferty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this poor, foster-care battered teenager! I laughed out loud any number of times at her clever comebacks. Tough, vulnerable and so very intelligent budding woman, but filled with teen angst. Long, hard row to hoe, but she will overcome. (I received this book as a giveaway, for which I thank the author and Goodreads. Kindle edition had lots of errors; needs proof-reading and repair.)

[Jenee Rager · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book through goodreads. It was a fast read and that's always good, but unfortunately it wasn't one I enjoyed very well. The biggest problem for me, is that the main character, the one you're supposed to feel sympathetic towards and want to see succeed at all her endeavors is a giant jerk. I not only wasn't sympathetic towards her, I simply couldn't stand her. The rest of the supporting characters weren't really well defined so their roles in the book didn't have much of an impact on me one way or another.

The summary of the book is that Penny is a foster child, her parents (who didn't like her for reasons that never seemed clear to me) died in a car crash when she was young. Since then she's bounced around from foster home to foster home, before finally being placed with Dan and Helen. While Dan seems to want the best for Penny and overall seems like a really good guy, Helen is mentally unstable with a history of suicide attempts. As she unravels Dan just seems to role with it, and forgive her for everything she does. Penny, is in love with a boy named Chester who works at McDonalds, however at the beginning of the book she has never talked to him. She sees him making out with a girl from school named Lisa (who is simply too nice for her own good and for a reader to believe is an actual person) and then insults him some. Somewhere along the way she decides to swim Lake Ontario. That pretty much sums the whole thing up, as the ending is just weird and confusing and I thought maybe pages were left out of my book somehow.

[Karlen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had potential but ultimately didn't come together for me.

[Renee Cowdery · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok book. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

[Kathleen Martin]

Official Review: Penny Maybe by Kathleen Martin
Post Number:#1 by ananya92 » 03 Jul 2016, 10:44

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Penny Maybe" by Kathleen Martin.]

Book Cover
4 out of 4 stars
Review by ananya92
Share This Review
5
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.

******
Penny Maybe