TW: death of a loved one, grief, 9/11, dementia
Rep: Abbi and Noah are both Jewish
*setting: New Jersey

Wow. Wow. Wow. I am so amazed by how great this book was. I was captivated by the story and just so invested in the characters? There's so many ways you can write a book about 9/11, but this was one of the most unique stories about 9/11 I have read in my life, so far.

We follow Abbi Hope Goldstein, who is the little girl in a famous 9/11 photo, called "Baby Hope". For all her life, she's been known as Baby Hope and is ready to close that chapter of her life as she starts her summer as a counselor at Knight's Summer Camp where she meets a boy, Noah who has a fascination with 9/11 and the Baby Hope photo because he lost his dad on 9/11 and is trying to get closure since he was just a baby when his father died.

Julie made me believe that the Baby Hope picture was real. SERIOUSLY. I GOOGLED IT TWICE. It felt so real to me, it was crazy. Hope and other Punchlines tells various stories of 9/11 survivors from different perspectives. As we know, everyone has a story to associate with 9/11 whether you were in New York on Sept 11, 2001 or not. Everyone has a story and I really admire how Julie made all the stories so different. The book reveals the message of heroes at the end and the development of Noah and Abbi's characters was done so well.

I devoured this story and honestly, I'm sad I don't get to spend more time with Noah and Abbi. Their story was so unique and sweet, despite the darkness and grieving. This was just such an incredible book and I encourage more people to read it.