But the real problem arises when Batty accidentally eavesdrops on a private conversation between Jeffrey and Skye (Jeffrey is madly in love with Skye, while Skye wants their relationship to stay rooted in loyal friendship). There's also trouble with the boyfriend Rosalind brings home from school, not to mention her mounting pile of unfinished book reports. The only job she can find is walking the Ayvazian's obese dachshund, and she was hoping to avoid any pet-watching since she still feels guilt over Hound's death six months earlier. So she sets out to make money in order to pay for her own voice lessons.īut things don't go as planned (there would be no story if they did). Grunfeld (her music teacher at school) discovers her rare singing voice, Batty has big ideas of planning a Grand Eleventh Birthday Concert to surprise her family. Her butterfly wings have long-since been abandoned, but she is still the same (shy, musical, and devoted to her family). It felt similar to the other books in that we still get glimpses into the lives of the other family members (and happily, their voices are as distinct as ever), but the story belongs to Batty. With so many characters mulling about (and really, that Penderwick house always seems to be filled to bursting), it would have been so easy for this story to be chaotic or disorganized, but Jeanne Birdsall gave it all to Batty (keeping this series firmly fixed at the middle grade level). The Geiger boys across the street are both grown up too (Nick is in the military and Tommy is in college), and Jeffrey (still an honorary Penderwick) lives in Boston with his father. Batty is 10-almost-11, Ben is in the second grade, and Lydia (yes, a brand-new Penderwick!) is almost two. Rosalind is a freshman in college, and Skye and Jane are teenagers. Several years have passed since the vacation in Maine with Aunt Claire.

This one dug deep, tugged hard at the heartstrings, and resolved some long buried issues.

While I've always loved the characters and the writing, I feel like the plots have improved with each one. In my opinion, these books just keep getting better and better. As soon as I cracked the cover and read the familiar names of Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty, I sighed with contentment.

The penderwicks book 4