“How the Penguins Saved Veronica” by Hazel Prior

I won this book in a GoodReads Giveaway.

I loved so much about this book! The characters are flawed, and fun, and relatable. I love Veronica; her spunky, snarky personality reminded me of my own grandfather. I loved learning about the Adelie penguins, and a glimpse of Antarctica (one of the few places I had zero interest in visiting until I read this book). It was a cute love story, a study in family and what that means, and a coming of age story all wrapped up with adorable penguins. You’re heart will break with Veronica, it will be mended along with her as well. The only thing I didn’t love about the book was there were several heavy-handed, and weirdly presented environmentalist passages. Generally the author was very good about presenting the real threats that the environment, and Antarctica and the penguins specifically, face within the flow of the story; and had she left it at that, I think it would have been less off-putting and rather effective in getting her message across. However, there are two specific passages where it seemed very agenda-y. It was so blatantly not within the flow of the story that it pulled you out. I’d rather learn a lesson within the story rather than being pulled from the story to hear it.