I wanted to love this book, but it tries too hard. Life is portrayed as too saccharine and black white as every issue under the sun is seen through the eyes of an incredibly optimistic, and maybe hopelessly naive, fifth grader. Mind you, I am a sixth grade teacher and know how precious those views are, but I also enjoy opening my students' eyes to the other side of the coin.

The illustrations in this novel are used to perfect effect, highlighting a few key points. It's perhaps a bit forced at times, but not bad. Mostly natural, the regular ups and downs of preadolescence, rocky friendships, the growing understanding of prejudice. On that last point it's especially rocky. It's trying to be current but I'm not certain that the perspective is entirely accurate. And Penelope's voice feels a bit too adult.

I was unable to finished before LOVE, PENELOPE was archived by NetGalley. I did enjoy what I had read. I liked the premise of Penelope writing to her unborn sister. I liked the Bay Area references and the diversity in her family.

Love, Penelope by Joanne Rocklin was a beautiful composition of letters from a big sister to her coming new sibling. Through Penelope's journaling to her future sibling, she is able to work through friendship issues, family challenges, BIG issues such as same-sex families, racism, bigotry, and the facts of life. Penny also tracks the basketball scores of her favorite team and the development of her future sibling. I loved how Rocklin was able to address the big issues from a child-like perspective. I would encourage parents of younger readers to be ready to have conversations with their children about big topics. I would highly recommend this book!

I loved the idea of this book and the look at a young girl and her diverse family life in the city of Oakland. Overall though the main story wasn't that intriguing or enthralling.

Penelope lives in Oakland, California with her Mama and Sammy. Her father was killed in a motorcycle accident, and Sammy adopted her when she was young. She's a huge fan of the Golden State Warriors, even though her classmate, Hazel Pepper, is from Colorado and prefers the Nuggets. Now that Mama is expecting a baby, Penny is keeping a journal of notes to her sibling. In it, she details a school project her class has been assigned about her family's history in California. Sammy's background includes members of the Ohlone tribe, and since her class studied them in third grade, Penny appropriates fome of Sammy's background for her project. She feels guilty telling this untruth to her teacher, Mr. Chen, and doesn't quite know how to come clean. In the meantime, she and her friend Gabby watch lots of basketball games, think about the drought in California, and deal with the relocation of Nell, Gabby's goat. Penny also does learn a bit more about Sammy's heritage, but has to deal with some prejudice against her mothers at school. When summer arrives, a girls' basketball team is formed, her mothers are able to legally marry, and her sibling finally arrives.
Strengths: For readers who like books in journal format, this is a fairly well paced account of an elementary school student with fairly specific interests, a little friend drama, and a diverse background.
Weaknesses: This is not actually a notebook or graphic novel. There are a few illustrations, but it's mostly text. And would parents really tell a child when they were just one month pregnant? I thought everyone waited until a good three months, since so much can go wrong.
What I really think: Knisley should write a graphic novel. Her style is similar to Raina Telgemeier's and Victoria Jamieson's, and whatever those two write immediately appeals to my readers. Without the pictures, though, this is a bit too young for my students. With pictures, I'm pretty sure my students who like graphic novels would even read a book about potty training!