Selling Hope

redheadperson22 - It's May 1910, and Halley's comet is going to pass through the earth's atmosphere. A lot of people are worried about what will happen when the comet comes. 13-year-old Hope and her dad have been part of a traveling circus for 5 years. Although her dad loves it, Hope longs for a real home again. When she overhears the road manger and his secretary talking about firing people, Hope thinks this is her chance to finally have a normal life. But she wants to make sure she and her dad are prepared to be fired, so with the help of her new friend Buster Keaton she starts selling "anti-comet pills". What I thought of it: My favorite character was Buster. His overall personality was really awesome. I wish there was a sequel, just so I could see more of him (and Nick). I really liked Nick (Hopes dad). This was one of the few books I've read that has female protagonist that isn't (overall) annoying. I really liked Hope actually. She was annoying a few times, though. Overall this is one of the best books I've in a while.

October 1, 2010

Thirteen-year-old Hope McDaniels, a magician's daughter, hates vaudeville and fantasizes about abandoning the itinerant life and saving enough money to settle down with her widowed father in Chicago. Her father, conversely, fervently espouses Thoreau's ideals, pronouncing, "Wherever you are—that's your home!" Taking matters into her own hands, Hope decides to cash in on 1910 America's terror that Halley's Comet will destroy the Earth. She enlists the help of the handsome 15-year-old Buster Keaton and begins a booming business in minty-fresh "Hope's Anti-Comet Pills." (Her mission becomes significantly less mercenary in the 17-day countdown to the comet's predicted arrival.) Hope has a sort of vaudevillian Tourette's—her "internal voice" is peppered with wisecracks that appear frequently, offset in bold and italics, and they are insufferably corny or, worse, baffling: "Chicago is so windy, a chicken here once laid the same egg six times!" Unfortunately, these quips—however reflective of the humor of the era—detract mightily from this oft-engaging, pleasantly romantic romp through a fascinating time in America's entertainment history. (author's note, acknowledgments, recommended reading) (Historical fiction. 11-14)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

December 1, 2010

Gr 5-8-Magician Nick McDaniels and his 13-year-old daughter have been on the vaudeville circuit ever since his wife died. Spending her time on trains and in grubby boardinghouses, Hope longs to settle down in Chicago, their hometown, and desperately wishes for a blue notice telling them that their magician act is no longer wanted, but how would they support themselves? She needs money to tide them over until her father finds another line of work. In May 1910, Earth is about to pass through the tail of Halley's Comet, and people are panicked. With the help of Buster Keaton, a lanky boy also on the circuit, Hope hatches the idea of selling anti-comet pills to gullible "Coins," who will do anything to save themselves. Tubb uses rich historical material well in this clever story whose time line is a 17-day countdown to the comet catastrophe. Not only are Keaton and his family part of the scene, but so are Bert Savoy, a comedian in drag; Benjamin Franklin Keith, an impresario; and the Cherry Sisters, a dull act regularly pelted with rotten fruit. Wisecracks, most of them vintage, are interspersed in a way that makes readers feel Hope is muttering them in response to what is happening. In this lively first-person tale, Hope isn't always completely believable because the language and vocabulary of her internal thoughts are sometimes too adult for a girl her age, even one with a father who spouts Walt Whitman. Still it's a good show with heroes, villains, and heart.-Barbara Scotto, Children's Literature New England, Brookline, MA

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2010
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* In 1910, Halleys Comet caused quite a pandemonium. Thirteen-year-old Hope, a smart and smarty-pants heroine, travels the country on the low-level vaudeville circuit with her magician dad, but she desperately wants to ditch the show and stay in Chicago. To do that theyll need money, and in a flash of inspiration, Hope whips up a side business selling anti-comet pills (thinly disguised mints) to hysterical people convinced the comet will bring any number of horrendous calamities with it. She gets help from another kid in the show, Buster Keaton, who, aside from being adept at slapstick, is handy at bringing a blush to Hopes cheeks. Tubb deftly ingrains a thoughtful ethical question into the story (is Hope really helping people by assuaging their fears or simply ripping them off?) but never overdoes it in this bouncy tale populated by a terrific cast of characters. The well-synthesized period flavor extends right down to the one-liners that punctuate Hopes earnest, easygoing, and perfectly pitched narration (This mornings gravy was so thick, when I stirred it, the room spun around!). In the end, though, its Hopes relationship with her fathera sort of proto-hippy-dippy naturalist who often seems more of a child than Hopethat steals the spotlight with a gentle and well-earned tug of the heartstrings.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)