Julie Buxbaum

"The tragic 9/11 event in NYC that changed the world, altered the life of Abbi Hope Goldstein as well as that of Noah Stern. They did not know each other back then, but they know each other now, and while Abbi is trying to move forward with her life, Noah still has unanswered questions that he believes Abbi can help answer"--

Hope and Other Punchlines

Victoria

TRULY AMAZING. 

Let me go and collect my thoughts first, though, and I'll get back to you.

celene

i love my bbs 🥺😩😩😩 

julie buxbaum does it again! her characters which compromises of mostly teenagers are again spot on! yay! love that for me anyway

fave things:
-i love that abbi and noah are such awkward and weird teenagers lol they cute
-i love how dorky nerd noah is lol specifically a comedy nerd lol he cute and hes a bespectacled teen +++adorable points and how he's earnest and sarcastic,,, he just such a silly and goofy and sweet babie hahaha 
-love my boi,,, noah w how 'smooth' he is w that scene w abbi lol adorable boi
-noah x jack friendship,,, love one (1) straight x gay friendship uwu
-noah's reaction w jack coming out to him,,,, that's so noah of him to say/do lol uwu
-i love how abbi's shy and friendly
-i never i knew i needed the jack x noah x abbi dynamic until now uwu
-i like how they dont have much friends,,,uhm so relatable man
-and how the book showed how friendship break-up sucks and it hurts :/ but you'll eventually find ur people someday and how friendship works and whatever
-uhm abbie apparently is not even five feet i think?? omg what a smol bean uwu and shes a champion babbler in all forms wc i cant totally relate to lol
-love their first kiss btw yeet
-uhm,, i cried??? :(((
-the phone call scene u guys uwu :(((

(im fancasting abbi and noah as finn and millie,,, maybe i just mileven??,,, idek im sorry im goin thru it,,,) ok thanks bye

Shan

A different kind of contemporary and I absolutely loved it

Candyce Kirk

It's hard thinking of not knowing about 9/11. I was 13 at the time and I remember where I was and all the emotions it brought with it. I was lucky not to know anyone that didn't survive this devestating moment of history. The fact that this author took an event like this to the newer generation is really amazing.

Julie Buxbaum took such a sensitive and emotional subject and gave us such a heartwarming story that holds a lot of facts, but also some humor. The characters in this story deserve some happiness in all the sadness and to just be able to live.

One of our main characters Abbi turned one on 9/11 and was carried out of her daycare. She was on the front of the newspaper and has been an icon since then. Even though she knows her family was lucky, she just wants to be Abbi and not Baby Hope. This is her summer to just be herself.

Noah's life changed 15 years ago as well and it takes awhile in this story to know what happened. In all honesty, I really didn't like Noah in the beginning. I thought it was very selfish to use Abbi the way he did, even though I understood more as the story continued.

I really think this is the story that you need to read for yourself. There is so much emotion (happiness, grief, loss, etc.) and the family dynamics really make this story complete. We get a dual POV and that really works for this story. This author brings a tragic event to life in such a beautiful way. If you're looking for a contemporary book that really sucks you in and makes you feel everything, definitely pick this one up! It's hard to really put into words what I feel for this story without giving a lot of it away!

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from Rockstar Book Tours. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Publication Date: May 7, 2019

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: 15+ (TW for 9/11, it’s talked about A LOT so please be careful if you were affected by it, 9/11 Syndrome, blackmail, jokes, and hope)

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 304

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Sometimes looking to the past helps you find your future.

Abbi Hope Goldstein is like every other teenager, with a few smallish exceptions: her famous alter ego, Baby Hope, is the subject of internet memes, she has asthma, and sometimes people spontaneously burst into tears when they recognize her. Abbi has lived almost her entire life in the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11. On that fateful day, she was captured in what became an iconic photograph: in the picture, Abbi (aka "Baby Hope") wears a birthday crown and grasps a red balloon; just behind her, the South Tower of the World Trade Center is collapsing.

Now, fifteen years later, Abbi is desperate for anonymity and decides to spend the summer before her seventeenth birthday incognito as a counselor at Knights Day Camp two towns away. She's psyched for eight weeks in the company of four-year-olds, none of whom have ever heard of Baby Hope.

Too bad Noah Stern, whose own world was irrevocably shattered on that terrible day, has a similar summer plan. Noah believes his meeting Baby Hope is fate. Abbi is sure it's a disaster. Soon, though, the two team up to ask difficult questions about the history behind the Baby Hope photo. But is either of them ready to hear the answers?

Review: This book discusses some really heavy topics in, what I think, is very personable and open way. This book takes place from the perspective of Abbi, who became an internet sensation when she was photographed on her first birthday and was dubbed Baby Hope. I loved how the author mixed in a real and tragic event and spun her own universe off of it. The moments that talked about the event were very well done and sensitive, but the core of the novel was healing and, like in the title, hope. I felt that the characters were expertly crafted, the story was funny and touching, and the feels ughhh. I also liked that the book really talked about 9/11 Syndrome. That’s something that not a lot of people talk about/think about. Funding is quickly evaporating to help thousands of those affected by the syndrome get the treatment they need and if legislation doesn’t pass to move more money into the fund, then a lot of sick people, a lot of those who helped find survivors and ran into the face of danger to rescue people, will be without aid.

My only complaint is that the mystery portion of the story is kind of weird, like the events that fall into place all seem a bit to coincidental to be true. Some of the sentences repeat and there is a bit of a repetition problem in the book. Also, a bit off-putting, were some of the quips and little jokes about 9/11. It’s really insensitive since some readers would have lost parents or family members on that day and it’s something they live with, either with 9/11 syndrome or with coping through the loss of an absent family member or parent. Laughter can be the best medicine, but some things are really off-limits in terms of jokes. Also, I don’t like that Abbi left her disease to progress over the summer to tell her parents. That’s not a message you want to send to young ones. And I didn’t like how there was a bit of Stockholm syndrome in the mix with the blackmailing of Abbi by Noah. 

Verdict: It’s raw and emotional and pretty good, but there are some off-putting things about it. So please self care if you were affected by 9/11.

Mehrin Rahman 

September 11, 2001 changed lives. Holes were created in families and hearts. This book was absolutely phenomenal showing us that love, courage and compassion can be found amidst despair and loss.
⠀ “𝙒𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨.”

 ↠ 𝘽𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙢𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚.
𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙮:
I was 6 years old, in NYC, out with my family to visit the World Trade Centre when this happened. We weren’t close enough Alhamdulillah, just a few blocks away probably. My mom was pregnant with my younger sister and we got back to our aunt’s place immediately. Even though I was just a kid, — and have all these random flashes of smoke filled sky, rushing down the street without looking back— I still remember everything so vividly.
⠀
Now back to the story. Abbi Hope Goldstein has lived almost her entire life in the shadow of the terrorist attack of September 11. On that fateful day, she was captured in what became an iconic photograph. Now, fifteen years later, Abbi is desperate for anonymity and decides to spend the summer before her seventeenth birthday incognito as a counselor in a summer camp.
⠀
Noah Stern, not only does he know that she is Baby Hope, he believes it was his destiny to meet her. His life changed, too, on 9/11, and he convinces Abbi into helping track down the other people who were in her iconic photo. But neither of them is being completely honest about the impact of that day on their lives.
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Hope and Other Punchlines is a powerful, poignant story about trying to move away from the shadow of your past, and finding the strength to make a fresh start. But at the same time, the book shows us that everything that occurs in our life makes us the person we are, even if we'd rather not acknowledge those things and their effect on us. I absolutely adored Abbi and Noah. Abbi’s character development was something that I really loved. I felt immensely proud of her for overcoming her fears and not letting that day to define her. My heart went out to Noah too. He was so cute and sweet and goofy in the best way. Watching that little spark ignite between him and Abbi filled me with joy. Abbi’s relationship with her parents and grandmother and Noah’s with his best friend Jack was so pure.
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Buxbaum managed to write a beautiful and moving story. I laughed out loud and cried ugly tears and then laughed some more. Will definitely recommend this book.

noelle

TommyBoi

libby k

Delaney Woods 

The New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things and What to Say Next delivers a poignant and hopeful novel about resilience and reinvention, first love and lifelong friendship, the legacies of loss, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. "A luminous, lovely story about a girl who builds a future from the ashes of her past." --KATHLEEN GLASGOW, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces Sometimes looking to the past helps you find your future. Abbi Hope Goldstein is like every other teenager, with a few smallish exceptions: her famous alter ego, Baby Hope, is the subject of internet memes, she has asthma, and sometimes people spontaneously burst into tears when they recognize her. Abbi has lived almost her entire life in the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11. On that fateful day, she was captured in what became an iconic photograph: in the picture, Abbi (aka "Baby Hope") wears a birthday crown and grasps a red balloon; just behind her, the South Tower of the World Trade Center is collapsing. Now, fifteen years later, Abbi is desperate for anonymity and decides to spend the summer before her seventeenth birthday incognito as a counselor at Knights Day Camp two towns away. She's psyched for eight weeks in the company of four-year-olds, none of whom have ever heard of Baby Hope. Too bad Noah Stern, whose own world was irrevocably shattered on that terrible day, has a similar summer plan. Noah believes his meeting Baby Hope is fate. Abbi is sure it's a disaster. Soon, though, the two team up to ask difficult questions about the history behind the Baby Hope photo. But is either of them ready to hear the answers?

Hope and Other Punchlines

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