Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that a character is found dead in a freezer, apparently a suicide.
Families who read this book could discuss the death that occurs in the book. What did the character hope for? Did he succeed? Also, what is the author trying to say with the book's title?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
Faith. Belief. Hope. Doubt. What is author Andrew Clements up to? THINGS HOPED FOR doesn't include the epigraph above, but since this is the sequel, of sorts, to Things Not Seen, he must surely have had it in mind. This is going to make a great group discussion book, because Clements only hints at what he means, a most unusual trait in a children's book. Is he talking about faith in God? Family? Friends? Oneself? Dreams? They're all here, along with many others and a cast filled with thoughtful, giving characters.
This is a sequel only in that the main character from the first book enters as a supporting player partway through, bringing along the invisibility theme, which is the least-interesting plot element here. Of more interest are the details about being a gifted young musician and living in New York.
But this is primarily a character- and idea-driven piece, and even when some of the plot elements don't quite make sense, the ideas are intriguingly open-ended, and the characters are warm, real, and moving.
From The Book
And now, the actual now, I am sitting at Grampa's desk with one lamp burning. The streetlights are on outside, and a pale orange glow seeps through the tall front shutters.
In this city of ten million people, I am alone.
Plot Summary:
Gwen is living with her grandfather in New York so she can attend a prestigious music school and audition for top music colleges. But one day her grandfather disappears, leaving behind a cryptic message telling her to hide his disappearance and go on with her audition preparations, which she attempts to do despite her uncle hammering at the door every day, demanding to see her grandfather.
Then she meets Robert, a trumpet player also in town for auditions, who has a secret of his own. Having shared their individual secrets, together they discover one more in Gwen's basement, a secret that shatters Gwen's quiet, regular life and her ability to concentrate on auditions, yet deepens their friendship in surprising ways.
Related Books:
Other Books by Andrew Clements
The Landry News
The School Story
The Janitor's Boy
Things Not Seen
The Jacket
A Week in the Woods
The Report Card
The Last Holiday Concert
Lunch Money
More Books About Aspiring Musicians
The Mozart Season by Virginia Euwer Wolff
The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt by Patricia MacLachlan
The Sandy Bottom Orchestra by Garrison Keillor
Unfinished Dreams by Jane Breskin Zalben
Midnight Hour Encores by Bruce Brooks
Related Web Sites
Author's site
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ViolenceOne death of a character in a freezer, apparently a suicide. |
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CommercialismGwen visits a Nike store. |
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