Hopeless in Hope

by Wanda John-Kehewin

Overview

We live in a hopeless old house on an almost-deserted dead-end street in a middle-of-nowhere town named Hope. This is the oldest part of Hope; eventually it will all be torn down and rebuilt into perfect homes for perfect people. Until then, we live here: imperfect people on an imperfect street that everyone forgets about.

For Eva Brown, life feels lonely and small. Her mother, Shirley, drinks and yells all the time. She’s the target of the popular mean girl, and her only friend doesn’t want to talk to her anymore. All of it would be unbearable if it weren’t for her cat, Toofie, her beloved nohkum, and her writing, which no one will ever see.

When Nohkum is hospitalized, Shirley struggles to keep things together for Eva and her younger brother, Marcus. After Marcus is found wandering the neighbourhood alone, he is sent to live with a foster family, and Eva finds herself in a group home.

Furious at her mother, Eva struggles to adjust—and being reunited with her family seems less and less likely. During a visit to the hospital, Nohkum gives Eva Shirley’s diary. Will the truths it holds help Eva understand her mother?

Heartbreaking and humorous, Hopeless in Hope is a compelling story of family and forgiveness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781774920831
Publisher:	Portage & Main Press
Publication date:	09/05/2023
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	695,694
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.55(d)
Lexile:	760L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Wanda John-Kehewin (she, her, hers) is a Cree writer who uses her work to understand and respond to the near destruction of First Nations cultures, languages, and traditions. When she first arrived in Vancouver on a Greyhound bus, she was a pregnant nineteen-year-old carrying little more than a bag of chips, a bottle of pop, thirty dollars, and hope. After many years travelling (well, mostly stumbling) along her healing journey, Wanda brings her personal experiences to share with others. Now a published poet and fiction author, she writes to stand in her truth and to share that truth openly. She calls Coquitlam home until the summertime, when she treks to the Alberta prairies to visit family and learn more about Cree culture and tradition. Hopeless in Hope is her first novel for young adults.

What People are Saying About This

High School Librarian Chris Gustafson

An intense, compact and ultimately hopeful narrative that looks deeply into the complexity of foster care and the legacy of colonization.

author of Me and Banksy Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Wanda John-Kehewin handles complicated characters and tough situations with a clear-eyed sensitivity and grace. This story will wring out your heart, then hang it to dry in a sliver of sun.

author of Dance Me to the End Alison Acheson

If being able to hold two contrasting thoughts in your mind makes you a genius, Nevaeh is a genius. She sees who people really are—and who they want to be—and learns to open her heart to them no matter what. The pages of Hopeless in Hope end up being filled with the best kind of hope—hope that grows from a heart feeling full and right even when life pitches us around.

UBC Creative Writing Instructor and New Media Stor Jennifer Moss

It’s wonderful to read an author who so artfully channels the voice of youth. As Eva navigates serious challenges like living in a group home and being separated from her family, she observes the world around her, learning lessons about love, the ties of family and friendship, the unfairness of poverty, and the power of finding your voice. Oh, and also soup—the tremendous healing power of a bowl of homemade soup.

Editorial Reviews

4.5 out 5 stars. A very moving and believable story revealing life for Indigenous people...but also kids who live in very damaged families...realistic and inspiring.

Youth Services Book Review - Katrina Yurenka

2023-07-26
Eva may live in a place called Hope, but she feels hopeless.

Fourteen-year-old Eva’s life in small-town British Columbia is far from perfect—her mom is often gone and perpetually drunk or hungover, her best friend isn’t talking to her, and she gets teased at school—but she has the constant love of little brother Marcus, the stray cat she took in, and Nohkum, her maternal grandmother, who can magic up delicious soup from whatever she gets at the food bank. When Nohkum breaks her hip and ends up in the hospital and Marcus is found wandering several kilometers away from home, social services get involved. Eva ends up in a group home, while Marcus is placed with a foster family. As she adjusts to her new living situation, Eva gains the stability to reflect on her relationship with her mother and their Cree family’s inherited trauma due to abusive government policies. Readers, in turn, are offered an age-appropriate and nuanced exploration of the legacy of separation and alcoholism that was inflicted on Native families for generations. The story presents a path forward, one in which we can have empathy for trauma responses while also holding people accountable for their impact. This YA fiction debut by poet and graphic novelist John-Kehewin (Cree) is a tender and even humorous coming-of-age story that depicts the traumatic legacy of residential schools in Canada.

A resonant story of healing, belonging, and persisting despite the odds. (Fiction. 12-17)

Kirkus Reviews