by Hazel Prior
Such a delightful book. A follow on from 'Away with the Penguins'* but can be read as a stand-alone as you would soon pick up Veronica McCreedy's previous Atlantic adventure. It starts in Ayrshire, in her old fashioned but expensively furnished residence. She is looking after a little girl called Daisy who introduces Veronica to technology and 'selfies' when they, and housekeeper Eileen, visit a wildlife centre where they see Macaroni penguins.
There are a lot of different types of penguins, far away places and fantastic scenery that most of us will never see in reality. There's a vulnerable youngster and a grouchy old lady, an ex-drug addict and a wildlife research team. There's a television crew, a kite and PLASTICs that do great harm.
The story outline can be read on various other reviews - Goodreads, Amazon etc but here's what I saw between the chapters, pages, lines and words.
It's about truth and lies, life and death, imagination and reality, anger and love. It's about tricks of our minds and believing our thoughts, making hard choices and coming through dark times. There's the lesson of 'being open' - not bottling up troubles; lessons about not jumping to conclusion and it's about how our upbringing affects our whole life.
I don't know if Hazel Prior knows the extent of her power to mix a cute penguin story with such deep life issues, but she does it so amazingly well. She teaches, inspires and counsels her readers all at the same time.
Five Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
* scroll down my blogs for Away with the Penguins review entitled Ppppick up a Penguin (March 2021)
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