This fall I reread several of the Chrestomanci books, but the only new children's book I've read is The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall. I was a big fan of the two earlier Penderwick novels. This one...not so much.
I think the problem here for me was that the story wasn't as tight as it was in the first two books. Book one was a sort of modern Little Women. Book two was all about children dealing with a single parent who is taking an interest in members of the opposite sex. For a long time it was hard to tell what Point Mouette was about. It seemed like just a rambling vacation story. Breaking up the sisters weakened the situation, too. It may have been realistic, but shouldn't a Penderwicks book be about the Penderwicks? All of them? And while I found the dramatic reveal at the end of the book dramatic, I also found it far-fetched.
Check out Ms. Yingling's rant on Penderwick-like books, as well as the comments that followed. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette is a Cybils nominee.
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