nosaferplace Book Club: Hope (Elizabeth Corr: Guest Post)

Hope

Author: Rhian Ivory

Publisher: Firefly Press

Read why Liz Corr chose Hope as her nosaferplace Book Club pick here:

Here’s To Hope…

‘Time passes; I don’t know how much. I sit on the floor panting, looking around at the mess I’ve made… My desk chair is upended, the wheels spinning uselessly, and one of my snow globes has smashed, leaving a little pool on my desk, shards of glass swimming in the remains. I think there’s something wrong with me.’

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Hope, written by the insanely talented Rhian Ivory.


Following the death of her father, and failure to get into drama school, sixteen-year old Hope’s life is spinning out of control. The future that she had her heart set on now appears permanently out of reach. Meanwhile, her body seems to be engaging in one long act of rebellion, literally fighting her mind for control. Feeling increasingly isolated from friends, particularly best friend Callie, and struggling to connect with her mother, Hope doesn’t know what to do next.


Help is at hand however, in various guises. After a failed (and particularly traumatic) audition, Hope meets Riley on the ferry. Like Hope, Riley is frustrated by the direction his life is taking and doesn’t know what to do about it. After their initial meeting, the pair provide one another with support (winding each other up at times, too) through a series of rather endearing, and sometimes very funny, text messages.


More important to Hope’s ultimate recovery, however, is Pryia, a member of the Singing Medicine team at the hospital where Hope’s mother works. Reluctantly, Hope joins the team, and initially is overwhelmed by the suffering of the young patients she sees. However, with Pryia’s encouragement, Hope eventually re-discovers her voice, bringing joy – and hope – to the children she sings to at the same time.


Hope also opens up to Pryia about the debilitating symptoms, including almost uncontrollable anger, she experiences on a monthly basis. Pryia finally convinces Hope to be brave and ask for help from her GP. After Hope discovers there’s an actual medical diagnosis for the symptoms she’s been suffering, things slowly start to get better.


Last but not least, Hope’s eternally optimistic grandfather, Nonno, helps Hope see that her future is far from over: when one door closes, more often than not another one opens up.


Hope is a beautifully written book. There are parts of the story - particularly how Hope and her mother handle their respective grief - that resonated with me deeply. Ultimately however, Hope is an uplifting, joyous story, with two clear messages.


Sometimes you need to be brave enough to ask for help before you can heal.


And sometimes you need to be adventurous and embrace change (whether or not you invited it), because when you do…well, that’s when you let hope in.

Altogether a fabulous read. Highly recommended.


2 comments

  1. I need to get my hands on the ASAP!
    Cora ❤ http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/

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