The Glass Castle

Our Canadian Girl: Penelope #2

by Sharon E. McKay

In the wake of the Halifax Explosion of 1917, Penny's father must make a decision that will alter all their lives. Faced with the difficulty of finding housing for his three motherless daughters, and worried by the constant threat of disease, Papa reluctantly sends Emily and Maggie to his sister's home in Montreal. Penny, however, must go to live with Grandmama in Montreal. It's a decision that devastates ten-year-old Penny, for the life she is offered in Montreal is nothing like she imagined. It is the life of a princess—and Penny is decidedly not a princess!

Genres: Historical, Historical Fiction, Canada

Paperback

First published September 10, 2002

About the author

Sharon E. McKay was born in 1954 in Montreal, Quebec, and earned a B.A. from York University in 1978. She lives in Prince Edward Island.


Series:
* Our Canadian Girl: Penelope
* Charlie Wilcox

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Juvenile (2009): War Brothers - Winner

Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award: Fiction
◊ 2002 – Charlie Wilcox – Winner

Reviews

[Lilyana Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little book. The protagonist, Penny, is very sweet. I quite like the Penelope series, but I do think that it would honestly be better if the four books were combined as one, since some of them do not feel like completes stories by themselves. I think books should be able to mostly stand alone with just enough mystery to launch you into the next book in the series. :)

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't imagine what it must feel like to be separated from your sisters to live with a relative you've never met, who doesn't really like you, in a city far away from your home. I thought I had read this when I was younger, but now I'm not sure because it all feels new. Either way, Penelope is still one of my favourite Canadian GIrls and her story holds a special place in my heart.

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is unprecedented for me not to seek volume I first. I discovered this and since it comprises 90 easy pages, I plunged ahead. I enjoyed Sharon E. McKay's 2002 story, wound around history. Chronology will straighten out when I find the other three. Penny, Emily, and Maggie live in Halifax of 1917, with their Irish immigrant Papa. He sends them to relatives, after the real explosion of that harbour. Fictionally, their house was hit by the disaster and Penny apparently saves her little sisters. Volume I will surely leave an impact when I have a copy. Penny's stories belong to an assortment called "Our Canadian Girl".

"The Glass Castle" shows me the aftermath and the sad decision of a Father to send his children out-of-province, which the girls fear and resent. On one hand, you think a family should share their years together and not miss those moments. On the other, it's true their city needs help rebuilding and their Father is a carpenter. Most strongly, he feels his babies should attend school cleanly and comfortably, between his Toronto sister and Montreal Mother-in-law; instead of sharing someone's house divided by curtains. It is rocky acquainting her aristocratic Grandmama but lovely, for Penny to explore her Mother's childhood home.

This family is the only fiction. It was a dire moment of Canadian history. After the destruction of homes, people, and injury of 9000; I cannot believe a blizzard struck the next day! These people needed housing and security more than ever! In the most horrible fluke possible: two boats collided right in the harbour. One fatally carried wartime bombs. It is the worst manmade explosion in the world. I have visited downtown Halifax and sailed from the harbour. It is so beautiful, I have to wonder how long rebuilding took.

[Meghan]

I'm doing horrible this year so yes I am counting a book written for 8 to 12 year olds that has all of 95 pages.