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Raising Hope is the story of Ruth
Teller, a rough-around-the edges, down-to-earth, tough waitress who’s been knocked around
a bit by life, and Sara Lynn Hoffman, a smart, beautiful ex-lawyer. The girls hated each
other when they grew up together in the small town of Ridley Falls, New Hampshire. But
when Ruth’s brother (and Sara Lynn’s ex-boyfriend), Bobby, makes Ruth and Sara Lynn legal
guardians of his baby daughter, Hope, after his wife dies, the girls must put aside their
personal differences and not only live together but raise a child
together.
The story is set in the summer after Hope’s twelfth birthday.
Sara Lynn’s overbearing mother, Mamie, has moved in, and the summer is a rocky period for
everyone involved. Ruth is carrying on a secret romance with her boss, Sara Lynn is
falling in love with Hope’s (much younger) tennis instructor, and Hope is going through
one of the most tumultuous and confusing times of any girl’s life—adolescence. Throw in
some family tension—Hope has a crush on the same tennis instructor that Sara Lynn is
dating; Sara Lynn keeps clashing with her mother (who’s still more than a little
disappointed with some of the choices Sara Lynn has made, and she’s not afraid to say
so); Hope is desperate to find out more about her “real” parents—and you have a recipe
for a coming-of-age story that celebrates the bonds of family.
The book is
written by first-time novelist Katie Willard, and it’s an excellent debut. She does
employ some interesting storytelling tactics—like the way each chapter is written from
the point of view of a different character (Ruth, Sara Lynn, Hope, or Mamie). I wasn’t
sure I liked that approach at first (whenever I started a new chapter, it took me a
couple of minutes to figure out who the new speaker was), but it turned out to be a
really effective way of rounding out the story. It lets the reader get into all of the
characters’ heads in a way that would be impossible otherwise. The book also travels
back and forth in time to Ruth and Sara Lynn’s childhoods and young adult periods—to let
us more into their worlds and their respective histories.
Raising
Hope is a lovely story about the importance of friends and family. As Ruth and Sara
Lynn struggle to raise a young lady, they remember their not-always-perfect relationships
with their own mothers. This novel reminds you that you can’t choose your family—but you
can definitely make do with what you’ve been given. No matter who you are, you should be
able to identify with at least one of the characters (for me, it was Sara Lynn). It’s a
pretty quick read, too. I’d recommend it for some light summer reading—or maybe as a
belated Mother’s Day gift.
