Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.comHOPE WAS HERE is a brilliant book by an equally brilliant author, Joan Bauer. When I read this book for the first time (my copy is worn; I've read it so often!), I was an instant fan of the author. HOPE WAS HERE is worth your time, worth your money, and worth anything else that you have to do to get your hands on this book. Hope is a sixteen-year-old waitress who has lived all across America with her Aunt Addie. Hope's mother (who, upon seeing her tiny baby for the first time, named her Marigold, of all things. Addie's twelfth birthday present to her niece was a name change.) has long been out of the picture, visiting only occasionally with tidbits of advice. Waitressing at the diner in Brooklyn was great for Hope, but, like all good things, it comes to an end. The owner stole all of the money and ran off, leaving Addie and Hope with nothing. The two of them boarded up the windows, and, just before driving off, Hope left her mark: Hope Was Here, in blue ballpoint pen at the edge of one of the boards. Addie and Hope are off to a small town in Wisconsin. When they get there, they meet G.T., the owner of the local diner where Addie will be cooking and Hope will be waitressing. G.T is a man the town loves, and he's going to run for mayor and change things. The current mayor, a scheming, dishonest typical politician, isn't standing for that, though. He's got to bring up how G.T. has leukemia, and is dying. How, he says, can a man who is dying take care of an entire town? He might not be alive in a few months. G.T. isn't alone, though. Hope, Addie, and countless others are trying to get him elected, so that he can do some good for the town. Even though things are hard, they've still got to have hope. This novel is amazing. HOPE WAS HERE is a book that you will not read only once, but over and over. It sticks with you. Part of this is due to the well thought-out characters, especially Hope. She is a strong character, but also a strong person. She's been through a lot, and she's still around, serving up food to hungry customers. Her waitressing jobs have a lot to do with who Hope is. Maybe to some people (you know the type--not good enough unless you've got a diploma from Harvard), waitressing seems like a dead-end job, but this book shows different sides of it. HOPE WAS HERE is a page-turner that will keep you riveted from the first word (which happens to be "somehow"), to the last ("had"), and when it's over, you'll want more. Luckily for us, Joan Bauer has written several other books for young adults, including BACKWATER, RULES OF THE ROAD, and SQUASHED. They're just as good as HOPE WAS HERE, too, and that's saying something!
First off, I just want to point out that reading this book made me really hungry. So to those of you that plan to tackle Hope Was Here, make sure you have food handy. That is all.Anyways, onto the important stuff. Prior to reading Hope Was Here, I read and loved all of Joan Bauer's previous books (Rules of the Road, Peeled, Thwonk, and Close to Famous). Each one of these story lines was not repetitive, had a great heroine to read about, a setting to match, and a great plot line. Hope Was Here is no exception.The story starts out with Hope leaving Brooklyn, NY, after her diner there closed down due to an employee robbing the place and running out with the night waitress. Hope and her aunt, Addie, begin the drive to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, where they have found jobs at GT Stoop's diner, Welcome Stairways. We learn that Hope has moved around her entire life, from restaurant to restaurant, and that her mother gave her to Addie when she was born. When they arrive at Welcome Stairways, it's discovered that GT Stoop, the owner, has cancer, and he surprises the whole town by deciding to run for mayor. What follows is a funny, easy to read plot that will have you smiling, frowning, and being hungry the whole way through that includes a relationship with the short-order cook, a scrapbook of dads, a corrupt mayor, a dead mouse in a salad, and a great plate of apple pie.I love Joan Bauer's type of writing, simply because none of her characters, in any of her books, are flat or one dimensional. They're all fun to read about and easy to relate to, because each one of them has their own stories. Props to you there, Miss Bauer.The setting is one of those things where you wish you were there at Welcome Stairways during the lunchtime rush, eating the food and watching the story fly by. I sure do.My only complaint about this book is as I mentioned at the beginning: make sure you have a plate of food near you, or your stomach will be growling in every chapter.
What do You think about Hope Was Here (2005)?
I love this book a lot. I just picked it up again when I was in a sad mood and immediately remembered how much I had loved it the first time. I adore the way it's written and I love the simple story that it tells. I love the main character, she is not perfect, but she is entirely likable. Her imperfections make her real and wonderful. One of the main reasons I love this book is because the Main character, Hope, is just like me. She's my age and temperament. I spend over half of my time cooking and I love any story that relates life to food. I understand it so well. The relationships in this book are really sweet too. I am forcing my mom and dad to read this book. I recommend this book to anyone.
—Kelly R
This was a heartwarming story for all ages. Its also very real, if you know what I mean. When Hope moves from the big city to the small Wisconsin hills, shes in for the time of her life. Hope and her Aunt Addie are introduced G.T, the man who owns the diner that Hope will work at for a while. When election time rolls around, running for mayor sounds like a plan for G.T. Right when he feels the heat of the election, disaster hits. G.T keeps pushing through, even when times got rough for him. He taught me that once something gets hard, you work even harder to get through it, and eventually, even if you don't reach your original goal, you might even get something better.
—Lauren Brophy
Hope hasn’t had an easy life. She was abandoned by her mother when she was a baby, and has lived with her Aunt Addie, a cook, since then moving from place to place in search of work. In her latest move, she and Addie left a great diner in Brooklyn to go to a small town in Wisconsin, when Addie’s business partner emptied the bank account forcing the diner to close. But in spite of hardships, Hope didn’t choose her name for nothing, and in Wisconsin she finds hope in a waitressing job at the Welcome Stairways Diner, and in friends with their own problems, like Braverman the cook, and G. T. Stoop who is running for mayor and fighting illness. Hope says: "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 and again what it takes to make a difference in other people's lives."
—Mary
