Penelope

PENELOPE

By:  Marilyn Caveny

FIRST SENTENCE

“Jake always knew where to find me.”

SUMMARY
from goodreads

Penelope Wilhern has everything a girl could want: a wealthy, socialite family, an enchanted bedroom and some of the coolest clothes around.  There is only one problem: she was born into a cursed family and had the face of a pig.

Hidden away from the world, Penelope now finds herself subjected to a string of snobby, blue-blooded bachelors in a desperate attempt to find a husband in order to break the curse.  Though she yearns for something greater. What’s a girl to do when faced with a determined mother and her match making sidekick?  Hoping to snap a picture of the mysterious girl, mischievous tabloid reporter Lemon hires down-on- his-luck Max to pose as a prospective suitor and infiltrate the family. But when Max finds himself truly drawn to Penelope, he can’t bring himself to expose himself and disappoint her so he disappears.  Fed up with this latest betrayal and determined to live life on her own terms, Penelope decides to break free from her family and go out into the world. 

REVIEW

Penelope was an incredibly cute story.  I loved reading about Penelope’s childhood as a girl with the face of a pig.  It was such an emotional story that I felt very strongly connected to Penelope.  Caveny did such a great job of drawing me into Penelope’s unusual world.

All of the characters were so well written.  I fell in love with sweet Max and don’t even get me started on Penelope’s mother.  I felt sorry for her and I was frustrated with her at the same time!  Every character added their own personality to this awesome tale.

The story itself taught a very important lesson.  If you are ever feeling down about yourself, just say “I like myself just the way I am” and you will feel better.  So yeah, love yourself just as you are.

Oh, and how’s this for a change-of-pace?  The Penelope book is based on the screenplay of the Penelope movie.  I had to be different though, so I read the book first and saw the movie second.  I’m sneaky like that!  They are nearly identical, except that the book has more detail.  Loved ‘em both!

I super highly recommend this fun and easy read. 

RATING

5        Plot

5        Characters

5        Attention Grabbing

5        Girlie Meter

5        Ending

25      TOTAL

5        STARS