Marianne Cronin's first novel is The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot. Cronin graduated with her PhD in Linguistics from the University of Birmingham. It took her a little over seven years to write The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot. Cronin has a rescue cat named Puffin that often sits under her desk while she writes. (Goodreads, n.d.).

Life is not always easy, but finding the right people to share it with is what this book is about. An unlikely friendship is created between terminally ill Lenni and 83 year old Margot. Together they have lived 100 years. This book has themes that not only adults relate to, but teens as well. As Lenni is 17, a teen could easily see themselves in Lenni’s shoes and relate to what she is going through. This book covers topics that are difficult to discuss and deal with, but does so in an elegant and mature way so that readers can process the “why” of life.

Lenni and Margot work together to pain the consecutive 100 years they have lived. I would suggest doing a paint night with the young adults about a moment that is important to them. I would have several prompts for the youth that would hopefully inspire them to paint something meaningful. I would also suggest to the teens to think about who they would give this art to? Who would also remember the memory and what type of emotions would the art make them feel? Would the art remind that person of you? This would probably be a more serious program as per the theme of the book, so I would make sure to create a safe place to teens to feel their emotions and hopefully give them a creative outlet to express those emotions. (Penguin Books Australia. (n.d.)

It can be easy to feel along in the world. There are so many people and yet it feels like nobody can relate to what you are going through. This is how seventeen year old Lenni feels in he One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot. Lenni is terminally ill and the person she finds she can relate to and bond with is an 83 year old women. The two make an unlikey friendship, but together they have lived 100 years. To find out more about these two sassy and hilarious women, pick up he One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot from your local library today!

This book is new, popular, and award winning. It is one that I have seen often on TikTok. This is also the authors first published book, and it already has a lot of success. The plot of the book is also something that teens can relate to, even if not directly. It teaches life lessons about choosing happiness throughout life and reflection on the moments that mean the most.