Hope Wins: A Collection of Inspiring Stories for Young Readers

 Module 4: Book Review 4

Bibliography

Brock, R., Soontornvat, C., Gidwitz, A., Korman, G., Bird, J., Cervantes, J. C., Brallier, M., Khan, H., Cartaya, P., Glaser, K. Y., Gibbs, S., Mlynowski, S., Buxbaum, J., Ponti, J., Ogle, R., Marks, J., Angleberger, T., Stine, R. L., Chainani, S., Hiranandani, V., Smith, R. L., Ryan, P. M., & de la Peña, M. (2022). Hope Wins: a collection of inspiring stories for young readers. Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

ISBN: 0593463935

Plot Summary

Hope Wins is a collection of short stories, and each one is written by a different author. Each author brings a personal story that is a true story from their past, which is themed around hope. Each author shows how hope can be represented in so many different ways and how it is different for everyone. But the authors hope that you, as a reader, can relate to at least one.

Critical Analysis

There were stories I listened to more than once, and there were stories that I needed to skip because I did not feel like I could mentally listen to them at the moment. One day, I’ll go back and listen to it again. I know that this was written because during COVID, people were losing hope, and it was hard for everyone. Hope Wins brings hope and a version of hope in so many various ways. Each story had its own tone, and the stories can range from mournful to humorous. I found myself and my 9-year-old laughing at some, and then I sat deep in thought with others. All show a way that hope brings them to get past their struggles. The age range that is promoted is middle school students, but I think that it could be any age. Some of these stories are about finding your identity, isolation, and what helped with it, homelessness, trauma, grief, and more. Nothing is sugar-coated, and it is not all rainbows and sunshine, but the reader wants to continue reading to see what their hope was.

There were some amazing quotes that I highlighted:

“Too many people in this world feel forgotten or unimportant. Too many people don't feel like they deserve to be loved. Taking the time to learn someone's name or…you never know when that is going to make a real difference in someone’s day.”

“ We are all influencers. We all have the power to be good to the people in your everyday lives-the people who matter the most.”

 “Hope is truly is everywhere if you look for it. Hope isn’t what you do for yourself. It’s what you do for others… H.O.P.E… Helping Other People Every-Day.”

Review Excerpts

• “These personal essays, whose authors embody myriad worldviews and represent a widely intersectional spectrum, provide a much-needed window into how hope can flourish in hardship, and stress the importance of perseverance and a supportive community.” –Publisher’s Weekly

Awards and Recognitions

• Winners of the 2022 Nerdy Book Club Awards for Long Form Nonfiction

• Lectio Book Award (Nominee-2024)

• Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List (Grades 6-8- 2024)

Connections

• Have students write about a time when they had hope.

• Have students write about a character in a book that gave them hope or showed that hope helped them prevail.