The Penderwicks at Last

Lydia and Batty are going to Arundel to prepare for Rosalind’s wedding to Tommy. The rest of the family will follow. For the older Penderwick girls, Arundel is a kind of homecoming. For Lydia, it is a storied place, but somewhat intimidating, although once she makes a new friend, Alice, most of Lydia’s fears are overcome or forgotten. The two girls act as tour guides to readers who are coming to this book without having read the prior books in the series and are not familiar with Arundel. As more family and friends arrive and the wedding preparations heat up, there is a lot of excitement and, of course, some difficulties to overcome and a couple of nice twists to ramp up the fun.

Author Jeanne Birdsall has brought this family saga to a satisfying close. Her use of a wedding as a vehicle to bring everyone together and allow for a very natural walk down memory lane is handled deftly. This book (and this series) has a wonderful, old-fashioned feel to it while in a contemporary setting and will be particularly attractive to those who love series like The Boxcar Children and the books of Maud Hart Lovelace.