Hope Yancy lives with her aunt Addie in Brooklyn, but they are about to leave the city she loves for a small town in Wisconsin. The diner where Addie was a cook went under when the owner ran away with all of the money. Now they are on to a new adventure.
Like most sixteen year-olds, Hope does not want to move. She felt comfortable in Brooklyn with her friends. They have moved before and she is almost sure it will work out, but it is not an easy move. When they arrive in Mulhoney, WI at the Welcome Stairs diner - named after the Quaker idea of welcoming people from where ever they come - she is not hopeful. But when she meets the owner, G.T. Stoop, she begins to change her mind.
G.T. is a fixture in Mulhoney. He serves great food, always listens, and helps out when anyone in town needs a hand. He is also fighting Leukemia. So everyone in town is surprised when he announces that he will be running for mayor - using what is left in his life to fight the corruption in town.
With a platform of honesty, G.T. is joined by Hope and many of the other teens in town who begin to realize why it is important to participate in the community of which you are a part. Hope Was Here is a story of coming of age that will appeal to anyone who has ever felt hopeless in the face of government. Bauer has the ability to fit many topics into a book while not overwhelming readers - her stories will stay in your memory for a long time.
Bauer, Joan. (2000). Hope Was Here. New York: G.P.Putnam's Sons.
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