Y’all know I love a book with hope as a theme, right? Hope Is a Ferris Wheel by Robin Herrera is obviously such a book–it even has the word hope in its title. This middle grade novel reminds me a lot of Linda Bauer’s (here, here, and here), only the problems in this problem novel are a bit more extreme than most I remember from Bauer’s. Hope Is a Ferris Wheel is Star Bright Mackie’s story. She’s the younger sister of Winter, a “problem” teen who has been kicked out of public school. Star, Winter, their mom, and their mom’s donut obsessed (yes, really) best friend have just moved from Oregon to California. Winter attends an alternative school while Star attempts to navigate the world of fifth grade. Star is naive and lonely, so when she attempts to form a “Trailer Park Club” (because she lives in a trailer park), she is confused about why the kids make fun of her. Star wants friends and to fit in, so after the trailer park debacle, she hits upon what might be a better idea: she decides to form the Emily Dickinson Club after being introduced to her poetry in class one day. The problem is that the only other students interested in such a club are Genny and Denny, a pair of nice-and-mean siblings who are inseparable; and Eddie and Langston, two school bullies who are hiding quite a bit about themselves. Star has a hard time standing up for herself to Eddie and Langston. She also has a hard time figuring out where she stands with her much-adored big sister, especially after she learns that she and Winter are only half-siblings. This story seems to almost have it all when it comes to modern-day sociological problems: a single-parent household mired in poverty; teenage angst; deadbeat dads; and teen pregnancy. Star hangs on to hope, though, so the story ends hopefully. With the help of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, and a small handful of hard-won friends, Star understands that her life will be okay. This is one of those books that was hard for me to read as a parent; Star’s life is so difficult, and her mom does seemingly little to understand her daughter or make her life better. As a former teacher, I wondered how much of some of my former students’ behavior was misunderstood by me; there’s almost always more there than meets the eye. I enjoyed this one, though it seemed a bit over the top at times. This is Herrera’s first novel, and she definitely shows promise as a writer. She gets bonus points in my book for being inspired by two of my favorite poems. (Amulet, 2014)
This book has been nominated for a Cybils in the middle grade fiction category.
