"I never thought about what it means to be a citizen before working on this campaign. I just took it for granted. Now, for the first time, I see how I need to take a part in the process, I need to think about my place in society, I need to say no to corruption even though there is so much of it around."

Hope Yancey   

THE STORY: When 16-year-old Hope and the aunt who raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waittress and cook at the Welcome Stairways Diner, they become involved with the diner owner's unconventional political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.

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FROM JOAN: I am fascinated and frustrated by politics -- I love it; I hate it; I wonder how in the world anyone could ever want to run for office; I'm thankful there are people who step up to the challenge every year. I am angered by spin and intrigued by it. I want people to trust, I want the system to work. My daughter's first memory was when I took her with me to vote. We went into the voting booth and I explained who I was voting for and why. I told her there was a time that women couldn't vote at all. The idea for writing Hope Was Here came to me from that soil. I was pondering many things when I wrote the story:

• The privilege of voting -- the fact that then in America, we had a very low voter turnout rate, especially among young people.
• The lack of honor in so many politicians -- and how the good ones seemed to rise above all the rest and make a difference.
• I wanted to write about a good politician who wanted to speak out against corruption.
• I wanted to write about a teenage girl who watches him and learns to trust people again.
• I wanted to write about a town that needed a hero and wasn't sure where to find one.
• I wanted to write about how hope can be found in the most unsettling times and the most unlikely places.
• Oh, yes -- and I wanted to write about food. Deeply important, mouth-watering, gorgeous, soul expanding comfort food.

Here are the aspects of politics that Hope Was Here addresses:

• THE NOMINATING PROCESS
• VOLUNTEERS
• SPEECHES
• TRUTH TELLING
• CAMPAIGNING
• HONOR
• CAMPAIGN FINANCE
• SLOGANS
• SPIN
• DIRTY TRICKS
• THE MEDIA
• SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
• ATTACK ADS
• VOTING FRAUD
• LEADERSHIP

Here are a few discussion questions:

• No political parties are mentioned in the novel. Why do you think I did this? Would mentioning Democrats, Republicans, or Independents have changed the story?
• G.T. tells the teenagers of Mulhoney that, "Politics is about serving up your very best." What did he mean?
• How would you define spin? How is it used in the novel? How is it used in politics in general? Adam says, "Everyone need a spin doctor." What would life look like if everyone had a spin doctor?
• In the beginning of the book, Hope Yancey is an accomplished waitress. How do those skills help her in G.T.'s campaign?
• Braverman says that fear is behind the dirty tricks being played on G.T. and his campaign workers. Do you agree with that?
• What do you think a leader needs to have to be successful?

To learn more about the story and how Hope Was Here is being used in communities, click here.

For HOPE downloads, click here.

For the HOPE WAS HERE teaching and discussion guides, click here.