A rich, heartwarming story about a curmudgeonly but charming old woman, her estranged grandson, and a colony of penguins that proves it's never too late to be the person you want to be, from the acclaimed author of Ellie and the Harpmaker. After a disastrous first meeting with the grandson she never knew she had, eighty-five-year-old Veronica McCreedy wants to find a worthwhile cause to leave her millions to. Although she has health, wealth, and wit, Veronica has been alone for a long time, her only connections to her past a box of diaries from when she was a teenager during World War II and a locket filled with a strand of hair from every person she has loved and lost. After learning about a research team studying endangered penguins in Antarctica, Veronica tells the scientists she's coming to visit--and won't take no for an answer. Despite a discouraging first experience in which a penguin attacks her favorite scarlet handbag, Veronica warms to the birds. She even convinces the team to rescue an orphaned baby penguin. He becomes part of life at the base, and Veronica's closed heart starts to open. Her grandson, Patrick, comes to Antarctica for one last attempt to get to know his grandmother. Together, Veronica, Patrick, and even the scientists learn what family, love, and connection are all about. Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Berkley (June 6, 2020) ISBN-13: 978-1984803818
