Finding Hope

February 1, 2016
What begins as a cautionary tale about drug addiction expands to address sexual abuse and bullying as well. Nelson (250 Hours) alternates rapidly between the perspectives of Hope Randall, 15, and her older brother, Eric, a onetime rising hockey star who has been kicked out of the house for using meth. Hope has been accepted to an elite private school, and her worries about Eric’s wellbeing compete with her struggles with a clique of cruel girls. The pages are steeped in emotional torment—Hope relies on her angst-ridden poetry to cope with hers, while Eric goes down an increasingly degrading and dangerous path as he searches for his next fix and reckons with the secret abuse that drove him to drugs in the first place. Nelson certainly evokes the desperation of both siblings, but heavy-handed language (“Whatever emotions had been inside me had turned hard, cooked by the meth”) and some less-believable plot details, such as how quickly and fully Hope throws herself into an online relationship with a boy she’s never met or spoken to, are less successful. Ages 12–up. Agent: Harry Endrulat, Rights Factory.

February 1, 2016
Hope misses her brother Eric, a former star hockey player who has become a meth addict. Will leaving home for a boarding school in the city help ease the pain? Neither Hope nor anyone else knows the reason Eric has descended into drug abuse, but in the name of tough love, her father has kicked him out. Hope's kept in touch with him, but now she's away at school, struggling to fit in. Largely isolated, Hope finds a boyfriend from a neighboring school via email and decides she's in love without meeting him. Meanwhile, Eric falls ever deeper into his addiction and follows Hope to the city, where he finds a home with other addicts in an abandoned building. As Eric sinks, Hope is drawn ever deeper into her online romance. Eventually the two siblings find each other. It turns out that both Eric and Hope have become the victims of cruelty, and the way each responds helps to resolve the story. Nelson alternates chapters between Hope and Eric, each narrating in the first person, with clear parallels drawn between the two. The alternating format works effectively to maintain tension, and readers will find themselves worrying and wondering to the end if either will be saved. A double story that draws readers in. (Fiction. 12-18)

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Starred review from February 1, 2016

Gr 10 Up-Fifteen-year old Hope has always fallen into her older brother's shadow. Eighteen-year-old Eric, once a hotshot hockey player, is now a meth-addicted shell of the popular boy he once was. Homeless and desperate, Eric relies on Hope for the money, food, and clothing she leaves hidden for him. But when Hope is sent to an all-girls academy, she finally has a chance to start a new life. At Ravenhurst, Hope quickly finds new friends and an online boyfriend. But as Eric's addiction continues to spiral out of control, his need for Hope's help is overwhelming. When he shows up at the gates of her new school, drugged out and needing a fix, Hope is conflicted about how she can continue to help him and still keep her broken family a secret. Nelson presents a sobering view of a normal family torn apart by addiction and abuse. Though their stories are painful, Hope and Eric feel like real people whom readers will root for. Told in alternating viewpoints, this realistic novel explores serious themes such as drug abuse, sexual abuse, and extreme bullying. Eric's chapters are especially well written, as they show Eric's thoughts and behavior during his meth-induced highs and lows. The siblings are believable characters who simply trusted the wrong people, with disastrous results. VERDICT Both heartbreaking and hopeful, this will be a popular choice among mature readers of realistic fiction, particularly fans of Ellen Hopkins's "Crank" series (S. & S.).-Leigh Collazo, Dulwich College, Suzhou, China

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