Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Eggs

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli

due to be published June 2007

(Minor spoilers)

This is the story of David and Penelope's developing friendship. They make an unusual pair, despite the things they have in common. David is nine and has just lost his mother. Penelope is 13 and doesn't know where her dad is. Both children estrange themselves from their remaining families. Their only ally is Refridgerator John, a man who loves kids (not in a creepy way) but scares them. David and Penelope constantly tell each other, "I hate you", yet their friendship continues to grow.

Though I have never lost a parent, this book rings emotionally true. Though it might be termed an "issue book" it is not dramatic. Eggs is simply a quieter story about a couple of confused kids.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you know, my little sister confided she wants to name her daughter Penelope. I was aghast! Yuck, what a name. But I see it popping up more and more often in literature and film (see the upcoming "Penelope" with Christina Ricci). Of course, I'll give this book a whirl b/c I love Spinelli and often booktalk his work.

Kristen - 2ndgenlibrarian said...

I'm not a particular fan of the name Penelope either. It strikes me as very old fashioned.

One of the odd things about this book is it has a more teenish cover, but reads like a J.