Cindy Baldwin

People tell Penny Rooney that she's lucky and maybe she is, but she doesn't always feel that way. Penny has CF (cystic fibrosis), which means her lungs don't work well. Many CFers don't live to a ripe old age due to their lungs failing. They get infections very easily and cannot be near each other and often require lung transplants. Upon receiving an assignment where she writes a poem about herself, Penny wonders who she is. She loves writing poetry and the excitement makes her really stop and think about herself. Is she lucky? Is that it? How can someone with CF be lucky. No one understands what it's like; it's lonely and she's different.

One day while out swimming with her sister in the river, the girls see something. Quickly they swim away only to discover that the "something" is a dolphin and not a shark, as worried it would be after having them spotted nearby. No one really believes them until Penny's parents confirm the sighting. This dolphin, that Penny names Rose, mysteriously connects with Penny. Penny feels like they communicate telepathically and maybe they do. Penny's best friend finds out that her family is moving to Virginia, which makes them both very sad. Penny ends up with an infection, causing her to miss school and go to the hospital. Penny doesn't feel lucky. She can, however, visit with her dolphin who loves to play. She relates to Rose because Rose is also sick--Rose's lungs have a similar infection. Penny's dad contacts experts who come to find out if Rose is healthy and to find a way to get her back into the ocean where she belongs. Rose gets meds, Penny gets meds and they bond. Never has Penny felt like someone understands her and her medical situation.

It's a really sweet story and you'll keep turning the pages. It's not slow; it's not boring. It's about being resilient and strong amidst uncertainties. It's also about letting go. You'll like all of the characters--there's little depth to any characters, but they're solid people in Penny's life. It's a story told in verse, so it flows well and quick.… (meer)

This is a unique and intriguing MG story about magic, family, finding your forever home, growing up, and starting to figure out life and find yourself at the age of 13. This was in an audiobook format with a synthetic voice known as a voice galley so I can't comment as to the narrator or full audiobook experience.
At first, this story seemed to have a bit of a slow start for me, but then suddenly it picked up and I became very engrossed in it. This story ended up being a bit more on the heavy side than I was expecting or than I'm used to when reading some MG books and it took me a bit longer to process so I could do my best to formulate and write a review here.
This is about a girl who's 12 almost 13 and lives in a cramped motor home/RV with her family, which consists of her two sisters and her parents. They're always on the move, traveling from place to place because her mother is a fallen star and goes wherever there's a problem with the magic in and surrounding everything. Ivy gets tired of having to go from place to place and decides to take the wishing jars her mother has and steal wishes for herself. She uses the magic and wishes to wish for herself to get a forever permanent home and they end up visiting one of her aunts in Whistling Ridge, where there is something very wrong.
Ivy is very much a normal 12/13 yr old girl that's neither extra heroic or extra whiny. She has good and bad days and goes through some hard times trying to figure out things about herself, how she feels about her home, her family, and everything in general. The corrupted magic in Whistling Ridge and where it comes from and the way the magic is used and described in this story is really well done. This story can help talk about and bring up topics with others this age and how they're feeling and doing with life, their families, their dreams, fears, and how to handle and process all these things as well as deal with their emotions.
There are incredible depth and layers to this story that can be used and enjoyed in a lot of ways by more than just the target audience of Middle-Grade readers. Make sure to put this on your list and check it out, you won't want to miss it. It's one of those stories that sticks with you long after you're done.
Thanks so much to Harper Audio and NetGalley for letting me listen and review this great MG story. All opinions are my own.… (meer)

Like Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe, this book deals with mental illness and I liked it better because it seemed more realistic. Young Della Kelly's mother is schizophrenic, which illness became manifest with Della's birth. Although she was hospitalized and given medication when Della was 8, the birth of her little sister causes her to progressively worsen. Della feels responsible, and tries to help her Mama using the logic of a child, but her various strategies don't work. Eventually, the Bee Lady and other neighbors help Della figure out the help that is needed most.… (meer)