Hope Was Here (2001 Newbery Honor Book) [Mass Market Paperback]

Joan Bauer (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Hope's used to thinking on her feet-she hasn't become a terrific waitress by accident. But when she and her aunt Addie move from New York City to a small town in Wisconsin to run the Welcome Stairways Diner, she isn't sure she'll fit in. Luckily, she doesn't have much time to dwell on it, what with life at the diner and her new home's upcoming election. G.T., the owner of Welcome Stairways, has decided to run for mayor, and no one in town knows what to think. After all, G.T. has leukemia. And his opponent is the current mayor, who hasn't lost an election yet. Some think G.T. is crazy, but Hope sees the goodness and power in him. Will everyone else see it too?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Here's a book that's as warm and melty as a grilled Swiss on seven-grain bread, and just as wholesome and substantial. Ever since the boss promoted her from bus girl two and a half years ago when she was 14, Hope has been a waitress--and a darn good one, too. She takes pride in making people happy with good food, as does her aunt Addie, a diner cook extraordinaire. The two of them have been a pair ever since Hope's waitress mother abandoned her as a baby, and now they have come to rural Wisconsin to run the Welcome Stairways café for G.T. Stoop, who is dying of leukemia. But he's not dead yet, as the kindly and greathearted restaurant owner demonstrates when he decides to run for mayor against the wicked and corrupt Eli Millstone.

As old-fashioned goodness lines up against the bad guys, the campaign leads Hope in exciting new directions: a boyfriend who is a great grill man, a new sense of herself and her mission as a waitress, and--when Addie and G.T. finally realize that they are meant for each other--the father she has always wanted. And all of it backed up with stuffed pork tenderloin, butterscotch cream pie, and the rhythm of the short-order dance.

Joan Bauer, who won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Rules of the Road, has served up a delicious novel in Hope Was Here, full of delectable characters, tasty wit, and deep-dish truth. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Of this tale of a 16-year-old waitress who searches for a sense of belonging, PW said that the prose, "often rich in metaphor, brings Hope's surroundings and her emotions to life. Readers are likely to gobble this up like so much comfort food." Ages 10-14. (May)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (May 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0698119517
• ISBN-13: 978-0698119512
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (191 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,635,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"I had moved from journalism to screenwriting when one of the biggest challenges of my life occurred. I was in a serious auto accident which injured my neck and back severely and required neurosurgery. It was a long road back to wholeness, but during that time I wrote Squashed, my first young adult novel. The humor in that story kept me going. Over the years, I have come to understand how deeply I need to laugh. It's like oxygen to me. My best times as a writer are when I'm working on a book and laughing while I'm writing. Then I know I've got something." Joan's first novel, Squashed, won the Delacorte Prize for a First Young Adult Novel. Five novels for young adult readers have followed: Thwonk, Sticks, Rules of the Road (LA Times Book Prize and Golden Kite), Backwater and Hope was Here (Newbery Honor Medal). Joan lives in Darien, CT with her husband and daughter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HOPE is here now!, October 16, 2000

By 

A Lover of Good Books. . . . . . . . (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hope Was Here (Newbery Honor Book) (Hardcover)

Like most reviews, this one is late. In our world with so many complex problems, what is one late book review? What could I possibly give you, the reader, that would make any difference in your life? Ah.....maybe one thing. A tip on hope. Although HOPE WAS HERE was designed for young adult readers, it abounds with hope for all who read it. And, you have to admit it, we all need hope.

There are a lot of stories out there for young readers today. Some stories sling the hash, others sling the bull. But at the end of a long day would you rather have something that sticks to your ribs or to the bottom of your shoes? This story sticks with you like good food and gives you that well-being feeling of a rush of endorphins. The author, Joan Bauer, isn't like many short-visioned writers churning out garbage for young minds. She entices the young reader with real people, real pain, and real hope.

Bauer weaves her plots with a high-energy girl named Hope who offers "full-service waitressing" mixed with common sense, honesty, and solid restraurant philosophy. Hope is a rejected transplant with only one constant relationship in her life. Using that as a seed of hope, and watered with the intrigue of dirty-play politics, Bauer gives us a must-finish story.

When you've finished, you realize you have been in the presence of "do the right thing, no matter who opposes you" kind of people. People of character, morals, and truth. Meet the restrautant owner fighting for his life and community fairness; the young cook who rates at least an 7.4 and rising on the male cuteness scale; the faithful aunt who subs as a mom and cooks with professional creative flair, and the gang of school kids who actually make a difference in their town.

Oh, there are plenty of antagonists, too, who play their sinister roles. We see them in this little Wisconsin dairy town fashioned as a microcosm for the self-serving politics of any town or nation. If you are asking if there is any help, trust, or truth left to maintain our freedoms, you will find this a great text book. But wait, this is for young readers not flag wavers or bible thumpers. My point exactly! Just when you've given up on how to serve good food to kids without them knowing it, this book comes along and hope come with it. It welcomes the reader like twin "Welcome Stairways." They remind you that no matter where you are coming from or what you we seek in a book, you leave blessed for the time spent.

Like a great engrossing movie that makes you unaware of the actors acting, Bauer's writing skills make us forget that this is fiction. This makes the reader delight in being part of Hope's life. We get a taste of the food service trade with funny but thoughtful rules of professional waitnessing. We get the common sense of survival through a free verse poem straight from a heart of a teenager's pain. We get clever one liners worth remembering.........."a B-minus in Grief," "a creaking door of friendship opening," and the "sweet snyergy of food service." Oh, and don't forget the hearse outside ready to cart us away - reminding us to make the days count.

So it is all here: great touchable characters kids and adults can relate to, an intriguing plot for today's times, humor that takes the edge off reality's pain, and a crafted style of writing that gives young adults books a new standard of measure. Oh, and let's not forget that books for young people are more than primers, they help shape moral development that schools and parents say we need, but forget to teach.

Well, the first election of the century is almost here. Politics, being what is, needs thoughtful voters. Vote, but read this book first. Pick up a copy soon......for HOPE WAS HERE is NOW here at your local book stores. You'll thank me for taking my advice. You'll thank Joan Bauer for her creative talents reminding us all not to give up but to do our part because HOPE is here now.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Bauer yet!, September 18, 2000

By 

Cathryn Burke - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hope Was Here (Newbery Honor Book) (Hardcover)

Bauer is one of my favorite authors, so I snatched this one up as soon as I found it. It is definitely my favorite so far. Hope and her aunt leave Brooklyn to travel to a small town in Wisconsin. There they will help GT, owner of the Welcome Stairways Diner, who is suffering from leukemia. He surprises everyone in town by announcing his candidacy for mayor. Many won't support him due to his illness, but Hope and many of the town's teenagers rally behind him in an attempt to oust the corrupt town leaders. Bauer's trademark humor and Hope's feistiness makes this book a joy to read!

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hope Was Here, February 5, 2002

By 

Rebekah McNaney (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hope Was Here (Newbery Honor Book) (Hardcover)

How would you like your name to be Tulip? Meet Hope, a sixteen-year old girl, whose real name is Tulip. She decided a while back that she hated that name, so she changed it to Hope. She and her Aunt Addie are about to move from their diner in exciting New York, to what Hope thinks will be boring Wisconsin. Follow a girl whose excellant waitressing skills, knowlege of politics, family and friends, inspire others.This book is perfect for young adults, or for people who have lost all hope.
Joan Baur writes this book in an easy-to-read, humorous and touching way, that shows you that there IS hope, and that there IS a way. Mrs.Baur takes us on a journey through Hope's eyes. Hope overcomes the obstacles in her city. In this book you'll laugh, cry, and be touched all at the same time.
Hope Was Here is a book with interesting characters, some good, some bad.You'll meet G.T Stoop, a leukemia patient with high hopes for the community, and Eli Millstone, the mayor whose a cheater and deciever. This book will bring hope to anybody's life. As Aunt Addie says about hope,"It's like the thrill I get from shoving a raw-plucked chicken into the oven and knowing that in a little while I'll have a soul-satisfying entree,"
Hope Was Here is a book for anybody who likes suspence, romance, and real-life situations will enjoy this book. Next time you are at the library, be sure to check out this Hope Was Here.