Hope - Softcover

Grade 4-8?Set in 1851, Hope is the story of two children placed in the care of a community of Shakers after their mother dies. Hope is headstrong and independent; her younger brother, John, is delicate and sensitive. Gaeddert vividly portrays the Shakers' peculiarities and kindness, leaving readers with a fully detailed and historically accurate picture. Rather than relying on descriptive narrative, she allows readers to meet them through the viewpoints of the two children, and succeeds in producing multiple dimensions and depths. Hope rebells against the Shaker sisters and strains at the discipline imposed upon her; John feels safe and cared for. Their father is panning for gold in California, and Hope is true to her name as she waits for him to come and "rescue" them. When word from him finally comes, she leaves; but John elects to remain behind, and by this time readers have witnessed enough growth in both characters to accept their choices as valid and right. Gaeddert successfully breaks through stereotypes to portray individuals living together in community. Direct youngsters wanting more information on Shaker life to Jane Yolen's Simple Gifts (Viking, 1976; o.p.); Nancy O'Keefe Bolick and Sallie G. Randolph's Shaker Inventions (Walker, 1990); or Raymond Bial's Shaker Home (Houghton, 1994).?Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This historical novel about a Shaker community in the mid-19th century is strong on ambience but short on plot and character development. Hope's mother has died and it's been more than a year since anyone has heard from her father, prospecting for gold out West. A callous uncle deposits Hope and her younger brother, John, with the Shakers, who welcome orphans and abandoned children. Gaeddert (Breaking Free) uses the children's reactions to dramatize the salient features of Shaker life. Hope, the main character, chafes at the strict rules and the strange customs, especially resenting the total separation of the sexes that prevents her from even talking with her brother. John, meanwhile, thrives on the Shakers' evident love and is thrilled to be taught woodworking. A year goes by-allowing Gaeddert to describe a full range of Shaker holidays-but neither Hope's nor John's feelings change. When they at last hear from their father (whose previous attempts to contact them, it emerges, were foiled by their uncle), Hope chooses to join him while John stays with the Shakers. Despite the author's attempts to turn the children's decisions into a climactic moment, there's never much tension, just finely wrought period details. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.