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popthebutterfly 's review for:
Hope and Other Punchlines
by Julie Buxbaum
Disclaimer: I received this book from Rockstar Book Tours. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Publication Date: May 7, 2019
Genre: YA Contemporary
Recommended Age: 15+ (TW for 9/11, it’s talked about A LOT so please be careful if you were affected by it, 9/11 Syndrome, blackmail, jokes, and hope)
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 304
Amazon Link
Synopsis: Sometimes looking to the past helps you find your future.
Abbi Hope Goldstein is like every other teenager, with a few smallish exceptions: her famous alter ego, Baby Hope, is the subject of internet memes, she has asthma, and sometimes people spontaneously burst into tears when they recognize her. Abbi has lived almost her entire life in the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11. On that fateful day, she was captured in what became an iconic photograph: in the picture, Abbi (aka "Baby Hope") wears a birthday crown and grasps a red balloon; just behind her, the South Tower of the World Trade Center is collapsing.
Now, fifteen years later, Abbi is desperate for anonymity and decides to spend the summer before her seventeenth birthday incognito as a counselor at Knights Day Camp two towns away. She's psyched for eight weeks in the company of four-year-olds, none of whom have ever heard of Baby Hope.
Too bad Noah Stern, whose own world was irrevocably shattered on that terrible day, has a similar summer plan. Noah believes his meeting Baby Hope is fate. Abbi is sure it's a disaster. Soon, though, the two team up to ask difficult questions about the history behind the Baby Hope photo. But is either of them ready to hear the answers?
Review: This book discusses some really heavy topics in, what I think, is very personable and open way. This book takes place from the perspective of Abbi, who became an internet sensation when she was photographed on her first birthday and was dubbed Baby Hope. I loved how the author mixed in a real and tragic event and spun her own universe off of it. The moments that talked about the event were very well done and sensitive, but the core of the novel was healing and, like in the title, hope. I felt that the characters were expertly crafted, the story was funny and touching, and the feels ughhh. I also liked that the book really talked about 9/11 Syndrome. That’s something that not a lot of people talk about/think about. Funding is quickly evaporating to help thousands of those affected by the syndrome get the treatment they need and if legislation doesn’t pass to move more money into the fund, then a lot of sick people, a lot of those who helped find survivors and ran into the face of danger to rescue people, will be without aid.
My only complaint is that the mystery portion of the story is kind of weird, like the events that fall into place all seem a bit to coincidental to be true. Some of the sentences repeat and there is a bit of a repetition problem in the book. Also, a bit off-putting, were some of the quips and little jokes about 9/11. It’s really insensitive since some readers would have lost parents or family members on that day and it’s something they live with, either with 9/11 syndrome or with coping through the loss of an absent family member or parent. Laughter can be the best medicine, but some things are really off-limits in terms of jokes. Also, I don’t like that Abbi left her disease to progress over the summer to tell her parents. That’s not a message you want to send to young ones. And I didn’t like how there was a bit of Stockholm syndrome in the mix with the blackmailing of Abbi by Noah.
Verdict: It’s raw and emotional and pretty good, but there are some off-putting things about it. So please self care if you were affected by 9/11.
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Publication Date: May 7, 2019
Genre: YA Contemporary
Recommended Age: 15+ (TW for 9/11, it’s talked about A LOT so please be careful if you were affected by it, 9/11 Syndrome, blackmail, jokes, and hope)
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 304
Amazon Link
Synopsis: Sometimes looking to the past helps you find your future.
Abbi Hope Goldstein is like every other teenager, with a few smallish exceptions: her famous alter ego, Baby Hope, is the subject of internet memes, she has asthma, and sometimes people spontaneously burst into tears when they recognize her. Abbi has lived almost her entire life in the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11. On that fateful day, she was captured in what became an iconic photograph: in the picture, Abbi (aka "Baby Hope") wears a birthday crown and grasps a red balloon; just behind her, the South Tower of the World Trade Center is collapsing.
Now, fifteen years later, Abbi is desperate for anonymity and decides to spend the summer before her seventeenth birthday incognito as a counselor at Knights Day Camp two towns away. She's psyched for eight weeks in the company of four-year-olds, none of whom have ever heard of Baby Hope.
Too bad Noah Stern, whose own world was irrevocably shattered on that terrible day, has a similar summer plan. Noah believes his meeting Baby Hope is fate. Abbi is sure it's a disaster. Soon, though, the two team up to ask difficult questions about the history behind the Baby Hope photo. But is either of them ready to hear the answers?
Review: This book discusses some really heavy topics in, what I think, is very personable and open way. This book takes place from the perspective of Abbi, who became an internet sensation when she was photographed on her first birthday and was dubbed Baby Hope. I loved how the author mixed in a real and tragic event and spun her own universe off of it. The moments that talked about the event were very well done and sensitive, but the core of the novel was healing and, like in the title, hope. I felt that the characters were expertly crafted, the story was funny and touching, and the feels ughhh. I also liked that the book really talked about 9/11 Syndrome. That’s something that not a lot of people talk about/think about. Funding is quickly evaporating to help thousands of those affected by the syndrome get the treatment they need and if legislation doesn’t pass to move more money into the fund, then a lot of sick people, a lot of those who helped find survivors and ran into the face of danger to rescue people, will be without aid.
My only complaint is that the mystery portion of the story is kind of weird, like the events that fall into place all seem a bit to coincidental to be true. Some of the sentences repeat and there is a bit of a repetition problem in the book. Also, a bit off-putting, were some of the quips and little jokes about 9/11. It’s really insensitive since some readers would have lost parents or family members on that day and it’s something they live with, either with 9/11 syndrome or with coping through the loss of an absent family member or parent. Laughter can be the best medicine, but some things are really off-limits in terms of jokes. Also, I don’t like that Abbi left her disease to progress over the summer to tell her parents. That’s not a message you want to send to young ones. And I didn’t like how there was a bit of Stockholm syndrome in the mix with the blackmailing of Abbi by Noah.
Verdict: It’s raw and emotional and pretty good, but there are some off-putting things about it. So please self care if you were affected by 9/11.