The Penny: A Novel

Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford
Faith Words (2007)
ISBN 9780446578110
Reviewed by Tammy Petty Conrad for Reader Views (7/07)


Jenny’s 1955 summer in St. Louis changed her life forever. And it seems it did the same for everyone she knew. The moment she picked up the embedded coin from the asphalt in the middle of the street, as the authors say, “…the mystifying chain of events began.”  The scene that unfolds played in my mind like a well-rehearsed movie, so it doesn’t surprise me that it has been optioned for an upcoming film. Fourteen-year-old Jenny had no way of knowing the impact of picking up just one penny on that particular day.

Soon she receives free movie tickets and a job offer from Miss Shaw, the mysterious proprietor of the local jewelry store. This could have been a simple feel good story, but it is so much more. Jenny reveals her world to readers, one character at a time. We learn about her sister, Jean, whom I immediately resented for never giving her sister a break. But as with all good storytellers, the authors continue to interweave the plot and reveal more details that help us better understand the characters’ behavior. Before the end I cried over Jean’s story, realizing how she had tried to protect her sister.

Other characters include Grace Kelly, whom Jean idolizes, and Aurelia, the African American girl who is integrated into Jenny’s school. Jenny faces more confrontation as she takes a liking to Aurelia and sneaks around to be with her and her family who welcome her into their home and their church.

We also learn about Jenny’s cruel and abusive father. I’ve always wondered how anyone puts up with being beaten by a loved one and how they endure the physical and emotional scars. This novel delicately tells a story of a child coping with her situation as best she can, always in survival mode. I wanted to cheer when a stand was made and it finally stopped. I discovered afterwards from the publisher’s website that this novel is based in part on Joyce Meyer’s own life. Now I understand why the situation is so well depicted. She lived it.

This is also a story of friendship: the one between a white girl and a black girl, a teenager and a lonely matron, and the one that develops between Jenny and God. This is not just a novel to be read and forgotten. Both authors have written a story which shares their own faith in a way that is not overwhelming or lecturing, but rather subtle and endearing. Jenny struggles with God’s lack of response to her ordeals, but she keeps trying to grow her faith and little by little, just like the pennies she has started to collect, she is soon standing on top of a mountain of inspiration. She takes this strength and positively changes her life and others around her. “That night I realized God doesn’t always make something go away because we pray. When we pray, he often gives us the strength to stand up to it.” I needed this kind of insight in my own life.

I enjoyed the writers’ style as Jenny reflected on one of the characters, “In that light, it wasn’t gemstones that glittered; it was facets of her character I saw.” As the story unfolded Jenny matured in so many ways. “God puts his love right in the middle of your path. He drops it right there to catch your eye, to show that he can change your life if you’ll just let him.”

This novel, “The Penny,” includes a Reading Group Guide with fourteen discussion questions. There’s nothing better than a dialogue with others to help you enjoy and understand a book even more. After looking them over, I’d like to reread the book to gain some of the insight I missed as I raced through the pages eager to find out how it ended. We can all benefit from taking the time to reflect on the fact that “…little decisions sometimes transform everything.” Just like a small pile of pennies can soon make a dollar, and sometimes even more!

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