Title: Hope was Here

Author: Joan Bauer

Genre: Young Adult Literature (according to Scholastic)

Length: 191 pages

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Source: borrowed from library

Blurb: When Hope and her aunt move to small-town Wisconsin to take over the local diner, Hope’s not sure what to expect. But what they find is that the owner, G.T., isn’t quite ready to give up yet–in fact, he’s decided to run for mayor against a corrupt candidate. And as Hope starts to make her place at the diner, she also finds herself caught up in G.T.’s campaign–particularly his visions for the future. After all, as G.T. points out, everyone can use a little hope to help get through the tough times . . . even Hope herself.

This book should be the definition of “short, quick, light read.” It was very short, easy, and to the point. There weren’t too many smaller plot twists or problems other than the main (very obvious) problem and solution. There was a clear moral to the story and it was very easy to read. Sometimes I think I dislike these sorts of books because I want a deeper plot and meaning, but at the time I read this it was the perfect quick easy read to pull me out of my “book slump.”

However, I felt like in the beginning, there was a ton of info-dumping. Several chapters were used to give me lots of background story from the Main Character when I would have loved to have gotten to know the characters better, and gotten the back story bit by bit, which would have made for a better book. I also hate to be this way, but I totally saw the ending coming. Obviously, this could be different for everyone, but the whole time I was just thinking “Where in the world is the suspense??”

Because I partly enjoyed the book and it was such an easy book to read, I give it three and a half out of five stars.

What about you? Have you ever read Hope was Here? How did you feel about it?