Eleven-year-old Hope leads a seemingly normal life. She is looking forward to sixth grade, and the promise of Outdoor School, an annual camping trip that happens in the spring. She is thrilled when she lands a job at a used clothing store, and manages to attract the attention of a cute boy from her class. But Hope's self-serving mother, Darlene, who frequently flies into rages, calling Hope "stupid" and "hopeless," always manages to overshadow everything good in Hope's life. When Darlene threatens not to sign the permission slips for Outdoor School, Hope decides she can no longer keep silent about what is happening at home. By drawing strength from the example of Anne Frank, whom she is reading about in class, Hope gathers the courage to tell her mother how much the names hurt. The message of this story about the destructive power of verbal abuse is thinly veiled, but Hope is a winsome character whose bravery and determination will resonate with middle-grade readers.

Eleven-year-old Hope has gotten used to her mother's daily verbal assaults. But with the help of caring friends, she realizes that she must stand up to her mother in order to heal herself and their relationship. This novel manages to paint a convincing portrait of verbal abuse and the damage it can cause without being too heavy-handed in the process.

Hope's mother verbally abuses her, calling her hopeless, an accident, stupid, the reason her father left, as well as innumerable profanities. When she's brought into the principal's office for calling another student a "dumb shit," her mother arrives, speaking demeaning profanities about Hope to the principal. So the reader gets the picture right away. Because her sixth-grade class is studying the Holocaust, she begins reading Anne Frank , and watches the film Life is Beautiful . Hope begins to develops coping methods, as did Anne in her attic and Guido in the internment camps. All the while, readers see her as a good girl, smart and hardworking, while her mother continues to denigrate and dismiss her. Fortunately, she has support from other adults and an older brother who knows her grief. The abuse remains erratic—like living with a rattlesnake—and finally, Hope's mother refuses to give her permission to attend the most important event of the year, the Outdoor School. Her brother contacts educators and friends, who intervene and convince her mother to change her mind. When Hope comes home, her mother has begun counseling and is beginning to change. Written for the purpose of helping other abused children, this has a hopeful, though rather facile ending; sadly, such is not the case for every abused child. (Fiction. 10-14)

Gr 4-6-Hope is a bright 11-year-old, eager to please and looking forward to a week at camp with her 6th-grade class. With ingenuity, she manages to fulfill the requirements, despite lack of support at home, but she has not fully reckoned with her unhappy and punitive mother. Anything can set Mom off, and when it does, a scorching tirade and cruel punishment follow. "Hopeless" is the kindest word that her mother hurls at her. This portrait of a verbally abusive parent is acute and painful. Readers will cheer for Hope as she finds ways to comfort herself and to shore up her damaged self-esteem. Especially important is her new friendship with two older women who run a thrift shop where Hope works to earn the boots and clothes she needs for the trip. When Mom punishes her by refusing to let her go to camp, it takes the intervention of caring adults to give her back her dreams and to stop the abuse. While Hope is away, her mother enrolls in parenting classes. That a troubled adult would turn around in one short week is a fairy-tale ending, but this didactic story is nonetheless a compelling and rewarding read. The back matter contains a list of "Hope Notes"-ideas for ways that readers can build their own resiliency.-Carolyn Lehman, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Eleven-year-old Hope is a typical adolescent. She is bright, energetic, and wants simply to be an active part of her sixth-grade world. Hope is also the victim of neglect and verbal abuse at the hands of her mother, an aging former actress who vacillates between icy detachment and a need to belittle Hope's every move. The story follows Hope as she tries to maneuver amidst these minefields so that she can attend an annual class camping trip, a prized event that she has been anticipating for months. Spurred on by a class reading of The Diary of Anne Frank, Hope seeks to discover her own strength to survive despite her mother's dehumanizing actions. The primary benefit of this book is its potential to offer encouragement to young people in similar situations. Despite occasionally stilted dialogue and a simplified ending, it sends the message that help is available in the form of school counselors, teachers, and community members. The author is on the board of directors for the Hands and Words Are Not for Hurting Project, a nonprofit organization that promotes the "moral and legal right to live free of abuse and violence." At the end of the book is a checklist for young people that includes practical advice ("Make friends with people who listen without interrupting") and organizations that readers can contact for help. This book would be a useful resource for schools and libraries where bibliotherapy and abuse issues are in demand.-Christina Fairman.