Hope is a teenager who has to move from Brooklyn, which she loves, to a small town in Wisconsin because her aunt, Addie, has gotten a job there. She's not happy about the move, but becomes involved in a local political campaign and comes to love the town and its citizens.
The plot is extremely strong and is built around the strong cast of characters. The plot is believable as we see Hope dealing not only with the problems regular teens face but with problems that many adults never have to face as well. The plot has several main conflicts which all emerge quickly. One is G.T.'s political campaign and their conflict with the mayor and his supporters. Then there are Hope's personal battles �as she deals with not knowing her father, missing city life and feeling ignored by her mother when she visits� (Voice of Youth Advocates). Then later there is the conflict Hope feels when she knows G.T. is going to die eventually from his leukemia. Because of the number of conflicts, there are a number of resolutions as well. When the voting fraud is covered and G.T. wins the election, that conflict is resolved. Hope's parental issues are resolved when G.T. adopts her after marrying Addie. She comes to love the town and stops missing the city. She also comes to terms with G.T.'s illness and learns to enjoy the time that she has with him. There are a number of subplots as well including Hope's relationship with Braverman and Lou Ann's sick child.
As I've said, this story has a very strong cat of characters. AT the heart of the story are Hope and G.T. We see Hoe's bravery and strong values as she thrives in her new town and joins G.T.'s political campaign. No matter how much pressure she's under, like when the diner gets packed with members from the Elks Lodge, she keeps her cool. But we also see her sensitive side when she cries about why her mother doesn't want her. She's believable and we feel like we know her and care about her. Then there's the huge cast of supporting characters. G.T. helps Hope see the good in the world and givers her a father. He's got extremely strong character, stands up for what's right, and won't be bullied, as we see in his campaign speeches for mayor. Then there's Hoe's aunt, Addie, who is like a mother to Hope. She can be bossy and tends to hide her emotions, but its obvious she loves Hope and G.T. and wants the best for them. Then there is Braverman, the short order cook at the diner, who ends up becoming Hope's best friend and first boyfriend. There are too many other characters to even to begin to describe them all. Lou Ellen, Al B. Hall, Deputy Babcock and many others play important minor roles in this story.
The setting is a typical small town in Wisconsin somewhere in the present time or not so distant past. Then of course there's the diner, the �Welcome Stairways� where much of the story takes place. It's easy to picture this little town with its bustling diner. Hope describes it so vividly that we can picture it. She says it's �two-story white frame building with the bright red double stairways descending from the glass door... A walk of flowering trees circled toward the back. Ever window had a flower box packed with blossoms� (Bauer 15). The setting is important because the small town atmosphere really contributes to the story, particularly the political race.
This story has several themes. One is the obvious, never give up hope. One might be to live life to it's fullest, as we see G.T. doing despite his leukemia, and we then see Addie and Hope doing as well when they choose to love him and enjoy the time they have left with him.
My favorite part of this story is it style. It's told in first person from Hope's point of view and she has a great way of thinking and talking. She's extremely descriptive and uses all sorts of crazy expressions and figurative language. The prose, �often rich in metaphor, brings Hope's surroundings and her emotions to life� (Publishers Weekly). For instance, she uses a lot of analogies and sayings that are associated with food. She uses the expression �deep in the weeds� throughout the book. In the book's opening paragraph she describes someone as being �one taco short of a combo platter.� She tells G.T. at one point, �you look like a plate of cold fried eggs. No offense� (Bauer 114). She also uses interesting expressions such as when she describes Lou Ellen as being �real pretty when the light went on inside� (Bauer 102). She says that when G.T. walks through a crowd, the people part for him like �the Red Sea did for Moses� (Bauer 35). All of these expressions and analogies really keep the reader interested in the book. It's almost as fun to see what Hope is going to say next as it is to see what will happen next in the plot.
This is a great story that will appeal to young adults as well as adults. It will appeal to people from varied backgrounds and places. Even if you've never been abandoned by a parent, or known someone with leukemia, or had to move halfway across the United States, you can still identify with Hope and her feelings. �The story's humor is warm and real� (Horn Book Guide). Readers will come away from this story with a feeling that anything is possible.
Horn Book Guide. 2001. Horn Book Guide. In Books in Print [database online]. Available from
http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 22 September 2004.
Publishers Weekly. 2002. Publishers Weekly. In Books in Print [database online]. Available from
http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 22 September 2004.
Voice of Youth Advocates. 2001. Voice of Youth Advocates. In Books in Print [database online].
Available from http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 22 September 2004.
