Penniless Hearts

ROMANTIC ADVENTURE:  Nice, reliable Penny takes care of her aging father, works her tail off for her demanding boss, and keeps up a lovely and suitable relationship with her longtime boyfriend.  She's solid and dependable...and suddenly missing from her life.  See, Penny hasn't always been boring.  She used to be wild and carefree, and she's finally snapped under the pressure of responsibility.  She's flown to Hawaii on a whim with a pilot she's known less than a day, but Penny's trip may not turn out to be the relaxing rendezvous she originally anticipated.

While the narrative is wonderfully descriptive, the plot to Penny's story is much too complicated to follow.  With over ten points of view finding random spots in the story, the characterization of the protagonists is almost nonexistent.  Each chapter, many of which are one or two pages long, switches to another character's situation and point of view. What the story does tell of the many people who are thrown into a whirlwind ride due to Penny's spontaneous decision is that they are all quite wacky characters, indeed.  

The muddled cast adds a humor to the story that isn't readily apparent at first, but ends up with a slapstick comic air to the myriad situations that these people find themselves in.  From blatant infidelity to incompetent thugs to one major incident of mistaken identity for an ancient goddess, there is a lot going on with Penny's friends.  Though the setting is beautiful and the Hawaiian culture is evident, the multiple story lines and points of view overshadow any major plot points or romance.

Nicole Duke