Penny from Heaven / Jennifer Holm / 285 pages / Twentieth Century Fiction

Penny was named for a Bing Crosby song, a favorite of her deceased father.  Her real name is Barbara, and in 1953, the setting for this book, she is still missing her father.  She and her mom live with her grandparents and her mom has started dating the milkman.  One of her father's brothers, Uncle Dominic, lives in a car, and her other uncles and cousin Frankie form the bedrock of her life.  After Penny is seriously injured by a wringer washing machine while she and Frankie are treasure hunting, several family secrets are revealed, understanding and forgiveness granted, and a change of heart exhibited by all.  This is a warm, moving story which focuses on life in the mid twentieth century and spotlights the plight of Italian American during and post World War II.