Author: Joan Bauer
Rating: 
Reading Level: 5th – 8th
Pages: 186
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Edition: Hardcover, 2000
I can see that, maybe, some readers will find parts (especially toward the end, when most things turn out exactly right) of this story a bit too good to be true, or even sappy, but I definitely ate it all up! Joan Bauer has the talent to capture many different personalities as only an observant writer would: they are just your every day ordinary people, they sound real, they act not that out of the norm, and yet, each single one of them also carries a little spotlight around that makes you, the reader as audience, see the details defined much more clearly and each of them shines with a glow that makes them a bit larger than life. Reading Hope Was Here, like reading its twin, another excellent book by Bauer, Rules of the Road, inspires the reader to examine the every day life and people with a special lens that captures what’s just below the surface that makes every thing and every body that much more special. We become less lazy about what we do and how we feel. I’m surprised that no one has offered a movie deal to turn this into one of the core American Spirit (dare I say Value???), feel-good, summer family movie! It has all: quirky, interesting characters, a mystery to solve, some very witty internal monologues (and food metaphors,) lots of hope and courage, and some romance, too. It’s a bit like Sideways, only it deals with the philosophy of Diner Food, not red wine, and it’s about a 17-year-old girl, not a middle aged man, of course!
As I read this book that has been quite popular with my 5th graders, I was constantly amazed in wonderous puzzlement: why do my girl readers, who are mostly from well-to-do families, and who has lived the city life all along would find this book so irresistable that they excitedly recommend it to their best friends all the time? What do they see and feel in it that speaks to them so much? The interesting and witty main character (Hope) alone cannot carry the weight of the entire book… what else? I’ll have to remember to investigate that one when school starts in a couple of weeks.
This book, quite popular with many students of mine (mainly girls) is such a disappointment. The writing is so elementary that it reads as if an elementary student could have written it — on the sentence structure and formation level. The limited view on life after death (although, it is supposed to give an alternative idea on the land of the dead) assaults my sensitivity and insults my intelligence. It “pretends” to be profound but it is so shallow. I also could not care enough about the characters to be emotionally touched. Although, I have to say that I wanted to find out how everything turns out in the end. *shrug* It will be popular for a while and then it will join its characters and flow to the Elsewhere of books.. oblivion.
A slim volume with a tremendous vision. Or, maybe I should say with tremendous Visions — since 9-year-old Thomas, the protagonist, seems to be seeing many of them, and most prominently, the Lord Jesus.
This title is mildly amusing but never did get me completely hooked.
This wacky science ficition story is read so amazingly well by Stephen Fry! I thoroughly enjoyed the listening experience. Now I must go on with the rest of the series! Of course, I can see that maybe some of the slapstick jokes can get a bit tiring after being repeated a few more times than absolutely necessary. Fortunately it is a short tale. I don’t think I could have withstood the funny blasts much longer!
I enjoyed reading this one: the main character is likable, the pacing is fast, and the problems are not that simplistically or easily resolved, although the story is a little bit outdated and does not include a real climatic scene.
After finally getting past the first few chapters of rather clunky writing and derivative plot details, I suddenly understood why the book has been so popular with young readers. This is a book that, young readers of fantasy stories would have written themselves: the surprising but not really complex plot twists, the relationships between major characters, and the resolutions are all very young-person-like (as opposed to childlike.) The actions flow quite quickly and there is definitely enough excitement to uphold reader’s interest. Now, I might actually go and read The Eldest.
This scary, ugly world of the future (thousands of years away) is so well realized and extremely chilling. The story is exciting but oh, so very sad. Almost every single one of the characters, major or minor, dies along the way. So bleak — most of the deaths are justifiable, but some seem a bit gratuitous. Definitely not a book for the weak of stomach. After closing the book, I can still hear the grinding of the city wheels and gear and feel the pain from so many different kinds of wounds inflicted to the various characters.
This reminds me of some of the best and most horrifying mangas I read as a teenager, fitting the serie’s title. Whoever wishes to read it, must proceed with caution — and a strong appetite for the graphically gory scenes.
This is bound to be popular with anyone who loves action-packed adventure stories. Vastly accessible due to its simplicity both in prose style and in its explicitly directive explanations of Percy’s emotional reactions to events. For me, there were simply too many repeated and predictable patterns (and some scenes thrown in simply for thrills) and not enough layers for contemplation to warrant deep satisfaction.
by Donna Jo Napoli
This book is just creepy enough, just romantic enough, just complex and simple enough, for pre-teen and early teens. I LOVE the descriptions of the consciousness of the HOUSE and Susan’s relationships with the House, her friends, and Nathan, the ghost boy. When Susan leaves her shell (body) behind and travels in a magical new exterior, the imagery is so vivid that even a non-visual/graphic reader like me can visualize the pictures. It is also interesting that there is no real “pay off” of the sub-plot of the father situation — that Susan’s father is not quite “punished” at the end. (I would have LOVED to see that…) It makes the story more real. This was a Bram Stoker horror fiction for young reader nominee. It lost to the 5th Harry Potter… hmm…. I disagree.
This is 2005 Newbery Winner — I did not read it prior to the announcement of the award, so read it with a mind-set of finding worthiness of this winning title, so I was probably more critical than usual. Still, I could not really figure out why it was an award winning book. There are incidents in the book that show sloppy writing/editing: after stating that a “couple” of years past without much going on, the next “going on” happens 4 and a half years later. A couple never equals 4.5. The narrator’s voice also shifts from the young and naive tone and old and sophisticated tone constantly. Unlike the masterful handling in Spinelli’s “Milk Weed” in which the narrator also goes in and out of “understanding” of his situation, both as a character IN THE MOMENT, and as a narrator REMEMBERING those moments, Kira Kira’s narrator shifts tones without showing such “designed” inconsistancy. Instead, it is jarring. Someone says that this reads more like a memoir, and I agree — there is little plot structure. However, even as a memoir, there should be consideration of momentum. The meandering nature of side-stories and family narratives may make it a less appealing read for young readers. I do think that readers who love SAD STORIES will really like this really DEPRESSINGLY SAD story… it does have a somewhat hopeful ending….
Meet the Austins by Madeleine L’Engle
