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Title details for The Penny by Joyce Meyer - Available

The Penny

A Novel

by Joyce Meyer
Deborah Bedford
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Jenny Blake has a theory about life: big decisions often don't amount to much, but little decisions sometimes transform everything. Her theory proves true the summer of 1955, when 14-year-old Jenny makes the decision to pick up a penny imbedded in asphalt, and consequently ends up stopping a robbery, getting a job, and meeting a friend who changes her life forever.
Jenny and Miss Shaw form a friendship that dares both of them to confront secrets in their pasts—secrets that threaten to destroy them. Jenny helps Miss Shaw open up to the community around her, while Miss Shaw teaches Jenny to meet even life's most painful challenges with confidence and faith. This unexpected relationship transforms both characters in ways neither could have anticipated, and the ripple effect that begins in the summer of the penny goes on to bring new life to the people around them, showing how God works in the smallest details. Even in something as small as a penny.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    June 12, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781594839368
      • File size: 146599 KB
      • Duration: 05:05:24

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The year is 1955. Jenny picks up a penny from the street, resulting in a series of events that change her life forever. Abused and filled with fear, Jenny learns the meaning of love through a new friend, Aurelia, and the beautiful, mysterious Miss Shaw. And she learns about God. This heartrending story is made even more captivating by the narration of Ellen Archer. She performs with a wide range of emotions and voices that create pathos and warmth in just the right places. The characters become so real that one is sad when the story comes to an end. Those who treat themselves to this audiobook will surely decide it's a favorite. N.L. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 30, 2007
      Meyer (Battlefield of the Mind), a Christian motivational speaker and bestselling nonfiction author, and inspirational fiction’s Bedford (Remember Me) are the newest inspirational one-two punch with this novel that pairs Bedford’s solid writing with Meyer’s popular ministry messages. Set in St. Louis in the racial hotbed of the mid-1950s, the story’s protagonist is the sexually abused adolescent, Jenny Blake. “All my life has been shaped by other people’s hands. Daddy slapping me, Mama never hugging me, Jean pointing a finger of criticism at me....” When Jenny picks up a penny in the street, she sets off a chain of events that results in her working for the mysterious Miss Opal Shaw, who teaches her the importance of unconditional love, grace, patience and forgiveness. Bedford has a penchant for similes, but crafts some memorable phrases, such as when Jenny’s best friend teaches her how to dance: “Move like you’re writing cursive on the wall with your backside.” The penny motif is used throughout in believable and sometimes less believable ways, as is a Grace Kelly metaphor. Meyer fans will easily recognize her themes of overcoming difficulties and shame through God’s love and positive thinking. A film version’s late 2007 release should help ensure that this book receives plenty of attention.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      When Jenny Blake picks up "the penny" from the hot St. Louis pavement one summer in the 1950s, she unknowingly sparks a chain of significant events. This coming-of-age novel, often painful to hear as it recounts physical, sexual, and verbal abuse, redeems its characters as faith, and acts of faith, intervene. Secrets are elegantly woven into the story, and its inspirational theme begins to make itself felt with the introduction of the mysterious Miss Shaw, a teacher of love and hope. Emily Janice Card's eloquent pacing, combined with her youthful pitch, depicts Jenny's plight and the penny's ripple effect. One clearly hears Jenny's smiles and humor in Card's bright delivery. A.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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