Penelope, Book 2: The Glass Castle

Description

101 pages
Contains Maps
$7.99
ISBN 0-14-331207-3
DDC jC813'.54

Year

2002

Contributor

Illustrations by Heather Collins
Reviewed by Carol-Ann Hoyte

Carol-Ann Hoyte is a children’s bookseller in Montreal.

Review

In 1917, a ship filled with dynamite collided with another ship in
Halifax Harbour, causing an explosion that flattened the north end of
the city and burned much of the rest. More than 2000 people were killed
and another 9000 injured. Thousands more were left homeless.

The Glass Castle is set in Halifax in the spring of 1918, three months
after the explosion. Penelope, her father, and her two younger sisters
have had to move into a rundown house with another family. Her father,
faced with raising his daughters by himself (the year before,
Penelope’s mother died giving birth) and fearing the ever-present
threat of disease, makes the difficult and life-altering decision to
split up his family. Penny goes to live with her wealthy maternal
grandmother in Montreal, while her sisters go to live with another
relative. Life in Montreal is difficult. Penny not only has to deal with
the separation from her family, she also has to adjust to a new life in
Montreal’s high society, a world in which she feels she doesn’t
belong.

This second book about Penelope in the Our Canadian Girl series deals
with loss and adjusting to a new beginning, as Penny and her grandmother
gradually bond, becoming their own family. In her endnotes, McKay
provides brief historical information on the buildings and streets
featured in the story, as well as a timeline, dating from 1608 to 1949,
highlights key events in Canadian history. Highly recommended.

Citation

McKay, Sharon E., “Penelope, Book 2: The Glass Castle,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed November 3, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/23540.