I think Melanie Crowder is a great writer. This sort of fanciful portrayal of foster care and adoption just couldn't hold a candle to [b:Forever, or a Long, Long Time|30531524|Forever, or a Long, Long Time|Caela Carter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481942537s/30531524.jpg|51057131], which explored the toll of foster care with much more emotional depth. Crowder's book is shorter, less complex, and features an anthropomorphized owl, which may make it more appealing for some young readers. ( )

Marin has been bouncing around from foster home to foster home after her mother abandoned her seven years ago. It seems like Marin might have a chance at being adopted, but she's not yet ready to give up her vision of being reunited with her birth mother.

I'm not really sure what more to say about this book other than that it didn't really do it for me. The one to three page chapters (and the short length overall) made it a fairly quick read, but I just didn't feel that invested. It was too obvious all along what was going to happen, and the characters were all too one-note (the perfect adoptive mother, the rigid social worker, etc.). The addition of an anthropomorphic owl was just odd and didn't really seem to connect with the main story at all; not to mention that his "wise" aphorisms were so cliche. On the plus side, some attempts at diversity were made. ( )

Quick read. Amazing, heartfelt, tender, and beautifully written. About a girl, Marin, who has been tossed around from foster family to foster family since she was four. Marin finally lands with someone who wants to adopt her. But Marin has always felt a longing to reunite with her birth mother. If she could just find her birth mother, Miran thinks maybe they could be a family again. I adored how the author, Melanie Crowder, wrote chapters from the perspective of Marin, the uneasy earth beneath, and the owl who watches over them. THREE PENNIES is the perfect addition to any classroom, school, or family library. Perfect for ages eight and up. ( )