Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker

Leeva at Last introduces us to a plucky young heroine who overcomes evil with good.

Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Matthew Cordell. Balzer + Bray, 2023, 305 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10

Recommended for: ages 8-12

What are people for?

Every Wednesday, Leeva Thornblossom runs outside to pick up the Nutsmore Weekly as soon as it thunks against her door. That’s all she’s allowed outside for. Otherwise, she’s a house-keeper and number-cruncher and general service person for her fanatically self-obsessed parents. Her mother, mayor of Nutsmore, is consumed by the idea of fame. Her father, town clerk, thinks of nothing but money. But Leeva wonders about a lot more than that. Specifically, people.

What are people for? She doesn’t know any, except the two who pay hardly any attention to her. But one Monday while her father is away on his monthly shopping trip to the Cheap-O Depot Grocery Warehouse, she sneaks into the lot behind her house—which happens to belong to the library, which may shed some light on what people are for.

Creating, cooperation, coming and going

The library is under the temporary management of Harry Flowers, subbing for his Aunt Pauline who’s suffering from a bad hip. Both Harry and his aunt are terrifically nice once Leeva gets to know them. And once Pauline starts sending Leeva on errands to round up special ingredients for her special cookies, the girls gets to meet other people. There’s omni-phobic Osmund who can’t step outside his hazmat suit, and shy Fern who’s overwhelmed with small siblings. People, it appears, are good for all kinds of things: creating, and cooperating, and coming and going about their various lives. Life is expansive and sometimes perplexing and often glorious. Her parents don’t know the half of it. And what’s more, her parents may be responsible for some nefarious goings-on in Nutsmore.

The plot doesn’t make a lot of sense sometimes: why, for example, do the people keep electing their awful mayor? The parents are thoroughly villainous in a Roald-Dahl manner—against school, for instance, because school teaches “Human Inanities. Things like art, literature, poetry, music. Things you don’t need to get famous or make money.” Actual parents may feel a bit uncomfortable about that representation, but readers will understand the exaggeration for effect. Leeva herself is good-hearted and likeable as she comes to positive conclusions about people. Her cheerful ending will provoke cheers.

Overall Rating: 4

• Worldview/moral value: 3.75
• Artistic/literary value: 4.5

Also at Redeemed Reader

• Reviews: Other books by Sara Pennypacker are Pax, Pax, Journey Home, and (my favorite) Here in the Real World.
• Reflection: Speaking of Roald Dahl, here’s how to read him redemptively.

We are participants in the Amazon LLC affiliate program; purchases you make through affiliate links like the one below may earn us a commission. Read more here.