Name: Hope Was Here (r/i)
ISBN: 9780142404249

Joan Bauer

Hope Was Here (r/i)

Mary Horton

W O W.

This book was good.

Don't get me wrong, it had its flaws--it's not an instant favorite of mine. But it was so full of meaning and hope that I can't help liking it. 


  Lovely Things:


- The heart. This book had SO much heart to it. Like...wow. Who would have thought that waitressing/cooking could be so rich in meaning? (P.S. I did cry in the last chapter or two. And here I was thinking I could make it without getting punched in the feels. #soclose)

- The setting. ACK YES. It had such a familiar feel to it, even though I've never read this book before. The characters acted like a family, and the town of Mulhoney, Wisconsin, felt like so welcoming and homey. I honestly just want to go to the Welcoming Stairs and eat apple pie now. <3

- The food. OBVIOUSLY THE FOOD. It's impossible to read this book without getting hungry. If you do read this book (which you SHOULD, you know), make sure you keep a bunch of snacks handy. You'll thank me later.

- The main character. Oh yes, Hope. She was awesome. I don't know what else to say about her except that she's the perfect blend of hope, strength, determination, and compassion. I WANT HER AS MY FRIEND, THANKS.


  Not So Lovely Things:


- The writing. Um...so I might be in the minority here, but I actually didn't like the writing style all that much?? It switched between past and present tense right in the middle of a scene. Like...why? Maybe to evoke a deeper meaning? Or something?? I AM ALL THE CONFUSED. Thankfully, I didn't notice a TON of that later in the book, but the writing style was still not my favorite. As much as I liked Hope, I didn't care for her as a narrator all that much. 

- The politics. This is kind of a pro and a con. As a rule, I can't stand politics, and the fact that this story mostly revolves around that was kind of annoying. XD I wasn't a huge fan of a lot of the political things happening in the book, but honestly, it didn't annoy me that much. Just a little bit. I still really enjoyed the book despite this so that's saying a lot. 

CONTENT:
Not much to mention here, but I was disappointed when they used God's name in vain a couple times. There's also a kiss exchanged, though it's not dwelt on for long. 

Overall? This was a really good book. I didn't totally click with it, and I probably won't be rushing to reread it, but I'm still glad I picked it up. It made a great summer read. *nods*

3.5 stars

Jeni Enjaian

A review from my old blog...

What a beautiful book!

Hope, the main character, lives with her aunt after having been given up by her mother. Hope's aunt, Addie, works as a short order cook and often moves around to help struggling businesses.

Every time Addie and Hope leave a place Hope writes the three words "Hope was here" in a place where it would last for a long time. Hope also keeps a scrapbook of her life divided into sections for each city that she has lived in with the hope of showing her father when she finds him.

While Hope thinks that Addie has made a major mistake when she moves the duo to a small town in Wisconsin it is here that Hope truly finds a home and her father, the one she had really been creating that scrapbook for all of those years.

When Hope writes "Hope was here" at the end of the book she writes the phrase with the knowledge that she will be coming back and that she has a home.

I absolutely love this book!

Christine

JoAnna

Jensyn Ronca

Bekah Contreras

death nurse

Kei demand 

Jacqueline Jordan 

Taylor

cristina morocho

Zack

Celestine Taevs-Nakaya

Lauren hughes 

Tess 

Lila Ingersoll

Simran Kalkat

Rachel Rozdzial

When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.