Abbi Hope Goldstein is like every other teenager, with a few smallish exceptions: she has asthma, and sometimes people spontaneously burst into tears when they recognize her. On September 11, she was captured in what became an iconic photograph: in the picture, Abbi (aka "Baby Hope") wears a birthday crown and grasps a red balloon; just behind her, the South Tower of the World Trade Center is collapsing. Now, fifteen years later, Abbi is desperate for anonymity and decides to spend the summer before her seventeenth birthday incognito as a counselor at Knights Day Camp two towns away. She's psyched for eight weeks in the company of four-year-olds, none of whom have ever heard of Baby Hope.
Too bad Noah Stern, whose own world was irrevocably shattered on that terrible day, has a similar summer plan. Noah believes his meeting Baby Hope is fate. Abbi is sure it's a disaster. Soon, though, the two team up to ask difficult questions about the history behind the Baby Hope photo. But is either of them ready to hear the answers? Through the voices of these two teens, New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things and What to Say Next delivers a poignant and hopeful novel about resilience and reinvention, first love and lifelong friendship, the legacies of loss, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.
"Together [Abbi and Noah] embark on a mission to talk to the other individuals pictured in the Baby Hope photo, an emotional journey that is tempered by a generous amount of banter between the quick-witted, endearingly awkward pair. Ultimately, their story delivers its fair share of gut punches and cathartic moments, couched in an overall light-toned narrative. A valuable addition to the growing body of 9/11-related teen literature — one that will be especially appealing to teens today." — Kirkus Reviews
Recommended Age | 14 and up |
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Author | Julie Buxbaum |
ISBN | 1524766771 |
Publication Date | May 7, 2019 |
Publisher | Delacorte Press |
Language | English |