How the Penguins Saved Veronica

April 15, 2020
A grumpy, emotionally isolated octogenarian living in Scotland travels to Antarctica and rediscovers herself. The years and decades have quietly slipped by Veronica McCreedy as she has lived alone along the Ayrshire coast with her various staff tending to her, her home, and its grounds. But midway through her 80s, she rediscovers her teenage diaries and realizes that she doesn't recognize the isolated person she has become. Though her short-term memory might not be what it once was, the memories of her teenage years come flooding back, and she decides she must find out if she has any living relatives and reclaim the adventurousness that once defined her. When the initial meeting with her 27-year-old grandson, Patrick, is a flop, she decides she'll leave her millions to the Antarctic penguins she's been watching on a television series. And, in a choice that readers might view incredulously, she buys all the necessary equipment, clothing, and tickets, announces her planned arrival time at the Locket Island research facility, and sets off. Prior, author of Ellie and the Harpmaker (2019), has written a story about the importance of family and love and how memories might remain long buried but, once they surface, can be just as distressing or joy-inducing as when they first occurred. The narrative, partially told by Veronica, partially by Patrick, and partially via emails, blog posts, and diary entries, explores the complicated emotions that guide people's decisions, in both good and bad ways. Drug use, addiction, and depression are touched on, but Prior ensures that readers understand the underlying goodness of her characters and their ability to survive despite loss. While some might view the story's proselytizing about climate change and the redemptive love of animals onerous, others will agree wholeheartedly. A light but enjoyable, optimistic tale.

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Starred review from May 1, 2020
Veronica McCreedy has good reason to be a curmudgeon: dozens of them, honestly. She's lived a tough life in her 85 years, and her heart has toughened up in response. Financially secure but emotionally closed off, she plans to leave her substantial fortune to a penguin research program in Antarctica. When Veronica decides that she deserves to see precisely where her money will go, she hops on a plane (and another plane, and a boat) to the research station on Locket Island. The tight-knit group of scientists are aghast that an 85-year-old would be willing to make the trek, but they gamely welcome Veronica into the flock. After witnessing how she can benefit generations of penguins, and at least one generation of the humans studying them, Veronica realizes that it's not too late to open her heart. A charming journey of a stubborn old lady hoping to counter her many hardships with an altruistic act, Prior's (Ellie and the Harpmaker, 2019) second novel will be welcomed by fans of Liane Moriarty, Maria Semple, and Erica Bauermeister. Prior's done her homework on Ad�lie penguins and Antarctic research conditions, immersing readers in a captivating world that's otherwise hard to reach.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)