What readers think of King Peggy, plus links to write your own review.

KING PEGGY is a warm, delightful book. As has been pointed out, it will appeal to the fans of the No 1 Ladies Detective series. It's enjoyable to learn about modern life in Ghana and Africa, and about the foibles and strengths of various people, some of whom can be called "characters." While a little overly descriptive, that was in fact a calming attribute and was never boring. It is a compelling read, as you want to find out how and when Peggy will solve her may problems.

King Peggy is an entertaining and uplifting tale of a humble embassy secretary who becomes king of an African community. Throughout the story of her first 2 years as king, she faces adversity on every hand, from poverty, theft and deceit to triumph in her efforts to create a better life for the people of her kingdom. Through it all, King Peggy's main concern is to improve the lives of the children she rules. King Peggy is part biography and part commentary on life in Ghana's rural communities. It reads like a novel with humor and heartbreak interspersed through the story. I will definitely recommend this book to many of my library patrons.

King Peggy is not a book I normally would have chosen since I tend more toward fiction. But I am so glad I chose it from the books available for review, drawn toward the comparison of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. For sure King Peggy shares the African locale, featuring a cast of whimsical characters living in often harsh conditions. And like No. 1 Ladies', King Peggy shares a compelling, forceful protagonist with one major exception -- Peggielene Bartels, aka King Peggy, is very real. Born in Ghana, Peggy was educated in England and makes her way to the United States, where she has worked as a secretary in the Ghana embassy for many years. Her suburban one-bedroom condominium is modest by some US standards, but to her family and friends from Ghana, she is living in the lap of luxury, having achieved a level of success that some entire villages will never reach. Yet Peggy's life is not terribly satisfying or exciting. She moves through each day putting one foot in front of the other, yearning for her absent husband who rejoined his family in Africa after several failed attempts at starting a family.

But a late-night call changes all that when she is informed of her election as King of Otuam. And so begins an adventure made both amazing and fantastical as Peggy's "Yankee" can-do approach blends seamlessly with the mystical teachings of her African heritage to catapult Peggy into a role that changes her life and that of the 7,000 souls in her Otuam home forever. I was enthralled, amazed, delighted, overwhelmed and inspired by King Peggy.

It is always uplifting to see that one average although not really can make a difference! While I felt the writing could have been tightened up this was a good read. What a wonderful example of how easily the socio-economic status of a community can be changed. King Peggy is certainly a book that should appeal to book club discussions. My book club would enlarge the discussion bringing more information about the area and how one person goes about making a difference. For these same reasons this would be a great young adult book as a basis for a research project or paper. While similar to Three Cups of Tea in idea and similar outcome this was not as dynamic. King Peggy was a worthwhile read will certainly be passed along to my reading companions.

An amazing story of one woman's ability to turn around the fate of her birth village in Ghana. Peggy Bartels, a secretary in the Ghanian Embassy in Washington is called to become King of the village she left 30 years before. She accepts the job not knowing how run down and rife with thievery the place has become. It's a fascinating read of what one person with determination can do. It would make a great book club discussion.

King Peggy - what a fabulous woman! Peggielene Bartels, an American citizen, with roots in Ghana, has been called to be the King of Otuam, a town of 7000. When she arrives for her crowning she finds that the town has no water, the palace is a wreck, the council has absconded with all the money, and that her predecessor has yet to be buried, and she has to pay for everything.

What Peggy does for her people in the two years covered by the book is outstanding. You will find humor, sadness, dedication, determination and confusion in this book. It is a fascinating read.

When I finished reading King Peggy, my first thought was this book would make a great Disney movie. For me it was rather a chore to finish, which is a pity because our heroine, Peggielene Bartels, is an amazing woman who took on a daunting task with determination, her story is unique and surely worthy of telling. I found the prose style problematic. Sometimes it read like a fable, sometimes like a middle school reader. Research was lacking: the author had the fishermen of Otuam pulling in an impossible mix of warm, cold, and fresh water fish from the tropical waters off Ghana; lions and rhinos are creatures of eastern, south-eastern, southern Africa, Namibia, the plains and veldts of the Great Rift Valley; Nelson Mandela is most certainly not the only African president to be jailed before taking office, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya comes to mind. Sorry to be such a curmudgeon, these details may be considered trivial, but I found them bothersome. I actually admired Peggy very much. She was too naive in the beginning, but was anxious at all times to respect her heritage while at the same time improving the lot of Otuam's residents. I'm glad she succeeded.

This non-fiction story is interesting. The writing with so many details leading to the 'meat' of the story was off-putting. Perhaps it's the holiday tasks and appointments that kept me from reading this leisurely. I haven't finished the book and don't feel the pull to do so. I will try again after the New Year and perhaps I'll find it more readable. In the meantime I must say it should be a fascinating story.