Hope Was Here

Hope grew up moving from location to location as her Aunt Addie moves from job to job in the restaurant industry. The most recent move from Brooklyn to rural Wisconsin was forced by Addie’s former business partner stealing all the diner’s money – from the cash register and the bank accounts.

Hope is frustrated and angry. She loved living in Brooklyn. She had great friends there and a great job. She’s definitely not interested in moving to rural Wisconsin. Yet here she is, with all her and her aunt’s belongings in the back of the car, driving across the country to the cheese capital of the country.

What she finds in Wisconsin surprises her. She finds G.T. Stoop, the owner of the Welcome Stairways diner. He has hired Aunt Addie to help in the diner while he fights leukemia. Which makes his entry into the local mayoral race all that more perplexing.

Hope finds herself in the midst of a heated mayoral campaign, working at the Welcome Stairways, and watching G.T. fight to become mayor – and for his life.

Author Joan Bauer is masterful at tackling coming of age stories for young women in difficult circumstances. She doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, and handles them with sensitivity. Hope Was Here is another great book. Read about some of Joan Bauer’s other books here, and here.

Highly recommended for ages 10 and up.