Penelope
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
Penelope's mother died when she was a very young child and she was subsequently adopted by her mum's best friend, Aunt Jo. On the surface her life seems as normal as anyone's and yet underneath she is deeply confused. Why does she suffer such painful headaches, why does she remember things that can't possibly have happened to her, and why can she speak phrases of Latin when she has never been taught the subject?!. Sometimes she really believes she is going mad. And then when even her best friend, Piloo, starts talking about reincarnation it's almost more than she can bear. Penelope only wants to be herself, but in order to achieve that she has to look to her past and discover just who she really is. . . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Supernatural themes electrify a tale that addresses a quintessential adolescent concern, the search for identity. Flora is without parents-her mother died long ago and her father deserted the family before her birth. Raised in her paternal cousins' home in a working-class part of London, the brainy, bookish Flora would have trouble enough sorting out her sense of self, but, to add to the expected confusion, she is gripped by powerful memories of events she could not have experienced. As Flora's best friend, an Indian girl, and Flora's aunt grow convinced that Flora is remembering a past life, Farmer (Charlotte Sometimes) lays out inviting clues-a portrait of an 18th-century baronet in the Tate Gallery, a button collection, scraps of Latin. This novel differs from run-of-the-mill supernatural tales not only for the expert quality of its prose but in the way the reincarnation story line serves the larger tale of Flora's coming of age and discovery of her family history. The paranormal elements, while integral to the plot, never overshadow the ongoing events in the lives of the characters. Indeed, the rest of the novel is so realistic and the cast so well fleshed out that they alone will trigger the reader's imagination. Ages 10-14.
