The Penderwicks at Last

"REREAD 11/5/2024 (change to 3 stars)<br/><br/>I think there's a lot to be said for growing up with a series. I as an audience have changed so much since I first read this book, and I have a lot more grace for how much these characters have changed with time. And this time, I'm happy for how they have changed. Lydia saying that all her memories of Skye are of her being lighthearted and happy is so healing. Even the Batty and Jeffrey romance makes sense to me now. Birdsall leaves so much space for her characters to grow, and as such this story is a beautiful and hopeful ending to the original Penderwicks' story. The only reason we remain at 3 stars is that Lydia's shenanigans simply aren't as shenanigan-y as the original trilogy managed. <br/><br/>ORIGINAL (2 stars)<br/><br/>I read a review somewhere on here that said that this felt like a really well-written Baffrey fanfic and I...kinda see it. With that being said, I am not entirely opposed to the idea of Jeffrey and Batty. <br/><br/>This entire series has proven itself to be a modernized Little Women. Therefore, I was kind of expecting that Skye and Jeffrey would not end up together - though there was hope. I am very happy Jane didn't die, though. That's rambling. The main point is that I understand why Jeffrey and Skye don't end up together, but I feel that Alcott fleshed out the reasoning for this much better. If I had gotten to see Skye and Jeffrey grow their own ways, and see Skye meet her new European boy, and see Batty grow up, this would have been better."

"I didn't like this book but read it anyway. It just made me angry. But it is well written"