Book Review: Hope Was Here

June 17, 2015

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Hope Was Here
Joan Bauer
186 pages
Hard copy edition

From the Publisher:
Joan Bauer’s beloved Newbery Honor book–
When Hope and her aunt move to small-town Wisconsin to take over the local diner, Hope’s not sure what to expect. But what they find is that the owner, G.T., isn’t quite ready to give up yet–in fact, he’s decided to run for mayor against a corrupt candidate. And as Hope starts to make her place at the diner, she also finds herself caught up in G.T.’s campaign–particularly his visions for the future. After all, as G.T. points out, everyone can use a little hope to help get through the tough times . . . even Hope herself. 
Filled with heart, charm, and good old-fashioned fun, this is Joan Bauer at her best.

Review:
I came across this book at the library and couldn’t pass it up.  Last year I read Close to Famous by Joan Bauer and really loved it.  There are just always so many books and not enough time, because I really would love to sit down and read all the books by Bauer.  Someday I hope too (I actually checked a whole bunch of them out…so we’ll see).  

This book was super easy to pick up and finish in one day.  And I LOVED that.  It is a middle reader and a Newbery Honor book.  And I can see why.  It was little but packed with so much you could think about and discuss. It would be a good book to read with a class. There are so many class guides for this book – google it.  They would be great to use if you had a book club too.

I was surprised at this little book.  I know it is a middle reader, writing for pre-teen/teenagers, but I really got a lot of it too.  I really thought Hope was such a good role model and had such a a realistic attitude throughout the book.  I think we could all learn something from Hope and her character.  One of my favorite quotes was near the end of the book when Hope’s mother comes to visit her.


“You know what I like most about waitressing?  When I’m doing it, I’m not thinking that much about myself.  I’m thinking about other people.  I’m learning again an again what it takes to make a difference in people’s lives” –

Maybe we all need to get a waitress job, right?  I mean think of how much better off the world would be!  

The book is easy to pick up and read, and I think totally worth the time.  I’m looking forward to reading other books by Bauer soon.

Final Score:

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