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Tuesday Book Review — What’s on My Nightstand: “The Penderwicks at Last,” by Jeanne Birdsall; “The Curse of the Werepenguin,” by Allan Woodrow; “The Beautiful,” by Renee Ahdieh; and “Rules for Vanishing,” by Kate Alice Marshall

October 1st, 2019

So many photos ❤️

(“Gleneden Beach, Oregon, USA — photo by Nancy Ellen Row Rawley)

Hello cats and kittens,

I have a nice little round-up for you this week.

“The Penderwicks at Last,” by Jeanne Birdsall (Yearling/Random House Children’s Books, 2019, 294 pages, $7.99) is the final book in this series about six adventuresome siblings. (The other five books are “The Penderwicks,” “The Penderwicks on Gardam St.,” “The Penderwicks at Point Mouette”and “The Penderwicks in Spring.” It’s an old-fashioned kind of series, in the tradition of “The Boxcar Children” and “The Moffatts.” My students, when I taught, enjoyed the Penderwicks. It has that certain something that appeals to modern readers. The Penderwicks will be missed. Follow Jeanne Birdsall on Twitter @jeannebirdsall

“The Beautiful,” by Renee Ahdieh (Putnam, 2019, young adult, 425 pages, $18.99). New Orleans + intrigue + creatures of the night. Enjoy this scary tale. Follow the author at @rahdieh

“Rules for Vanishing,” by Kate Alice Marshall @kmarshallarts (Viking/Penguin Random House, 2019, young adults, 402 pages, $18.99). Marshall’s debut book, a young adult read, was “I Am Still Alive,”. It caught readers’ attention. “Rules for Vanishing,” her latest, is being released just in time for Halloween. Sara Donoghue’s sister Becca left a year ago, in search of Lucy Gallows, and no one has seen her since. Lucy, a ghost, has her own road, her own story, and her own plan. Sara and her friends from Briar Glen need to find Becca, and this isn’t an adventure that any of them really want to go on.

But it’s Becca.

“EXHIBIT A
Text message received by all Briar Glen High School students on Monday, April 17, 2017

DO YOU KNOW WHERE LUCY WENT?

SHE WENT TO PLAY THE GAME.

YOU CAN PLAY, TOO.

FIND A PARTNER.

FIND A KEY.

FIND THE ROAD.

YOU HAVE TWO DAYS.”

OK, now my heart is racing.

It’s a gripping book, and the format is intriguing, with the story, clues and interviews interspersed with cell phone calls and texts.

And now, for something fun: “The Curse of the Werepenguin,” by Allan Woodrow, illustrated by Scott Brown (Viking, ages 4th grade and up, 334 pages, $17.99). Funny, funny boys put this book together. First page:

“Prologue: The St. Aves Zoo

Fourteen penguins glared at me with haunting yellow eyes. They seemed disturbed, disdainful, disgruntled, discombobulated, and disagreeably disquieting. They squawked — loud, roaring barks — beaks frowning.

A chill rose up my back.

I sneezed.”

OK, good. Let’s go! Great story, captivating and humorous, and the drawings are perfect.

Happy autumn, happy reading.

WM

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