Product Description

When 16-year-old Hope, waitress extraordinaire, moves cross-country to Wisconsin with her aunt Addie to run the Welcome Stairways Diner, Hope isn't sure she'll fit in. But she quickly finds herself involved in the small town's mayoral race, as G. T., owner of the diner, surprises everyone with his entry into the race. After all, G. T. has leukemia. And his opponent is the previously undefeated longtime mayor. Some think G. T. is crazy, but Hope sees the goodness and power in him. Will everyone else see it too? Joan Bauer, known for creating strong, unique, feminine characters, finds in Hope a sharp heroine who won't soon be forgotten.

Praise for Joan Bauer:

"Jubilant, strong, and funny, this is a road trip to remember."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred Big Picture review for Rules of the Road

"Rich with engaging characters...and dramatic tension in a well-paced plot, this is another great read from Bauer."--School Library Journal review for Backwater

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #474631 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From Amazon.com
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

From Publishers Weekly
Bauer (Rules of the Road; Squashed) serves up agreeable fare in this tale of a teenage waitress's search for a sense of belonging. Sixteen-year-old Hope has grown used to the nomadic life she has built with her aunt Addie, a talented diner cook. She doesn't mind the hard work it takes to make a diner hum; she seems to have inherited a knack for waiting tables from the free-spirit mom (Addie's younger sister) who abandoned her years ago. But Hope would gladly give up always having to say good-bye to friends and places she loves. When Addie accepts a new job that takes the pair from Brooklyn to the Welcome Stairways diner in Mulhoney, Wis., Hope never could have imagined the big changes ahead of her. She and Addie shine in the small-town milieu and gladly offer to help diner owner G.T. Stoop, who is battling leukemia, run for mayor. Along the way, Addie and Hope both find love, and Hope discovers the father figure she has so desperately wanted. Readers will recognize many of Bauer's hallmarks hereAa strong female protagonist on the road to self-discovery, quirky characters, dysfunctional families, a swiftly moving story, moments of bright humor. Her vivid prose, often rich in metaphor (e.g., Hope's description of the Brooklyn diner: "The big, oval counter... sat in the middle of the place like the center ring in a circus"), brings Hope's surroundings and her emotions to life. The author resolves a few of her plot points a bit too tidily, but her fans won't mind. They're likely to gobble this up like so much comfort food. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up-When it comes to creating strong, independent, and funny teenaged female characters, Bauer is in a class by herself and the 16-year-old waitress in this book is no exception. Hope Yancey and her Aunt Addie, a much-sought-after diner cook, have toured the country, one diner at a time. With each move, the teen leaves her mark, "HOPE WAS HERE," in ballpoint pen somewhere on the premises. Now in Mulhoney, WI, she has no idea that the residents of this small town will make their mark on her. G. T. Stoop, the Quaker owner of the Welcome Stairways, has leukemia, and while the disease can keep him from running the diner he loves, it can't keep him from running for mayor against a corrupt incumbent. Taking part in his campaign allows Hope to get to know Braverman, a fellow worker at the Welcome Stairways and G. T.'s greatest supporter. The mix of dealing with illness, small-town politics, and budding romance for both Hope and Addie is one that will entertain and inspire readers. Bauer tells a fast-paced, multilayered story with humor but does not gloss over the struggle of someone who is unable to trust, someone who has been left before, and who avoids getting close to anyone for fear of being left again. Teens who have come to expect witty, realistic characters and atypical (but very funny) story lines from Bauer's previous books will not be disappointed and new readers will be sure to come back for seconds.
Tracey Firestone, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
HOPE WAS HERE is a brilliant book by an equally brilliant author, Joan Bauer. When I read this book for the first time (my copy is worn; I've read it so often!), I was an instant fan of the author. HOPE WAS HERE is worth your time, worth your money, and worth anything else that you have to do to get your hands on this book.

Hope is a sixteen-year-old waitress who has lived all across America with her Aunt Addie. Hope's mother (who, upon seeing her tiny baby for the first time, named her Marigold, of all things. Addie's twelfth birthday present to her niece was a name change.) has long been out of the picture, visiting only occasionally with tidbits of advice.

Waitressing at the diner in Brooklyn was great for Hope, but, like all good things, it comes to an end. The owner stole all of the money and ran off, leaving Addie and Hope with nothing. The two of them boarded up the windows, and, just before driving off, Hope left her mark: Hope Was Here, in blue ballpoint pen at the edge of one of the boards.

Addie and Hope are off to a small town in Wisconsin. When they get there, they meet G.T., the owner of the local diner where Addie will be cooking and Hope will be waitressing. G.T is a man the town loves, and he's going to run for mayor and change things. The current mayor, a scheming, dishonest typical politician, isn't standing for that, though. He's got to bring up how G.T. has leukemia, and is dying. How, he says, can a man who is dying take care of an entire town? He might not be alive in a few months.

G.T. isn't alone, though. Hope, Addie, and countless others are trying to get him elected, so that he can do some good for the town. Even though things are hard, they've still got to have hope.

This novel is amazing. HOPE WAS HERE is a book that you will not read only once, but over and over. It sticks with you. Part of this is due to the well thought-out characters, especially Hope. She is a strong character, but also a strong person. She's been through a lot, and she's still around, serving up food to hungry customers.

Her waitressing jobs have a lot to do with who Hope is. Maybe to some people (you know the type--not good enough unless you've got a diploma from Harvard), waitressing seems like a dead-end job, but this book shows different sides of it.

HOPE WAS HERE is a page-turner that will keep you riveted from the first word (which happens to be "somehow"), to the last ("had"), and when it's over, you'll want more. Luckily for us, Joan Bauer has written several other books for young adults, including BACKWATER, RULES OF THE ROAD, and SQUASHED. They're just as good as HOPE WAS HERE, too, and that's saying something!

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

Hope for YA Books Was Here
As a reader who is no longer within the "age demographic" that is targeted by this book, I read YA novels because I have found that behind the deceptively simple writing, there is often as much--if not more--depth than can be found in the "adult" section (Pornography is "adult"...need I say more?). Ellen Raskin, Robin McKinley, and the inimitable Lloyd Alexander are only a few of the authors who have written YA books that made such an impact that they have undergone numerous reprints and still enjoy wide popularity years after they were written. Those who turn up their noses at such "teen" fare are missing a rare opportunity.

When I encountered "Hope Was Here," the first thing I noticed was that it was a Newbery Honor Book. This led me to believe that Joan Bauer had written a book on par with the very best of YA fiction; unfortunately, what I instead discovered is that a wonderfully told story is no longer the standard by which these books are judged. Instead, awards are given to books that are thought to teach some valuable moral lesson; moreover, that lesson must be within the earnest guidelines of current (for it is ever-changing) political correctness. Characters and plot can fall to the wayside. The message is all that matters.

And indeed, plot and character fall to the wayside very quickly. Part of what helps to define a character is motivations, and we are never given to understand what exactly motivates Hope, a newcomer to the town, to jump instantly and with profound devotion onto G.T.'s political bandwagon. She has not been living in the town: she has only just met him, and the issues he addresses in his speech have no personal resonance for her as a newcomer. Yet this does not faze her for one moment. Never once does she question her own devotion, or wonder how she was swept up in this political ardor with such speed. Hope is willing to sacrifice her own safety to elect G.T., yet we are given no indication why.

The character begins to be lost at that moment, and it's all downhill from there. The other characters are cardboard cutouts, and depressingly predictable. There's the Saint, the Handsome Teen Love Interest, and the Perfect Caretaker/Gruff Cook. Seriously. The bad guys are unremittingly evil, so much so that anyone who is planning to vote for them can only be thought idiots or evil themselves. There are no shades of gray in Hope's world, or, apparently, in Bauer's political field of vision.

We know Eli Millstone is a Big Evil conservative oppressing the simple people in favor of a massive corporation, and G.T. is the good-hearted liberal whose motives are pure as the driven. Children will therefore not learn the realities and complexities of politics, because the message of this book is a good-versus-evil fantasy that leaves no room for subtleties or moral questions.

All such weighty matters aside, this book does not even deliver on the basic requirements for a good read: plot and characterization. Every phase of the plot, from the couplings to the incessant triumphs of good over evil, is apparent long before it has happened. The characters never surprise us. The writing is decent, and Hope's backstory is more interesting than the one she is currently in.

In keeping with the lack of moral complexity that pervades this book, Hope is perfect: she never gets angry, and everyone in the restaurant adores her. She understands that life is hard and has all the answers already, at sixteen.

The book is strung together with numerous disparate moments, many of which are clearly meant to be "sweet," but because of their lack of real context, end up being saccharine. We have to care for the moment to matter. On the other hand, there is something almost cinematic about the story's structure, with its clear-cut characters, quirky townspeople, and black-and-white cookie sweetness. While I don't think "Hope" has succeeded (artistically) as a book, it may yet succeed as a movie.

Breathtakingly Real
I suppose I can relate to this book, which is why I recommend it and why I enjoy it so much. Hope Was Here is about waitressing and politics. When put together in the same sentence you might think, "Well, that's an odd combination." But in this book, that's a theme-- unlikely but fantastic combinations.
I'm a 15 year old girl who waitresses for my family business and I know how it feels to be in the food service business. Joan Bauer describes it perfectly and in an exciting way that I've never thought about before. This story is so heartbreakingly real it will make you smile and laugh, frown and cry.
I read another review about how it was about an abnormal family. Except this reader thought it was a bad thing. But that's what makes this book truly beautiful. If you think about it... "average families" are dwindling. But that doesn't mean that real love is too. A family is not a clear definition. Things go wrong. And this is what Joan Bauer's book is about. Things going wrong but hoping for the best to come your way, regardless. This is an uplifting read that I strongly recommend for teenagers and adults alike. You can learn a lot from it... as well as some great waitressing tips.