Finding Hope

Thirteen-year-old Hope Williams has learned one rule: don't depend on anyone who might leave.

When her mother's struggles make home no longer safe, Hope is taken to live with her grandmother, Sarah-a woman who asks surprisingly few questions and seems to understand far more than Hope wants her to.

Hope arrives with one packed duffle bag, a sketchbook, plenty of anger, and no intention of staying.

But Sarah leaves the garden gate open.

A teacher notices Hope's talent without demanding her trust. A principal holds her accountable without deciding she's a bad kid. A community makes room at its table. And Hope discovers the story of Evelyn Brooks, the librarian who once offered Sarah the same thing Sarah is now offering her:

Sanctuary.

As Hope's mother begins the difficult work of rebuilding her own life, Hope must confront a question more frightening than abandonment:

What if some people really do stay?

Finding Hope is a tender, hopeful coming-of-age novel about family, anger, forgiveness, community, and the ordinary people whose presence can change the course of a young person's life.

It is a story about discovering that being hurt does not mean being broken-and that sometimes the hope we receive from others eventually becomes the hope we learn to hold for someone else.

"But Sarah leaves the garden gate open."

"What if some people really do stay?"