Hope Springs - by Jaime Berry (Paperback)

About the Book

Eleven-year-old crafter Jubilee Johnson's assumptions about her vagabond life, her estranged mother, and her idol, television's perfect crafter Arletta Paisley, start to change after Jubi and her grandmother move to a small Texas town.

Book Synopsis

Fans of Kate DiCamillo and Katherine Applegate will fall in love with this tug-at-your-heartstrings middle-grade novel about one girl who is desperate to find the "perfect home" as she moves from one town to the next with her Grandmother.
Eleven-year-old Jubilee Johnson is an expert at three things: crafting, moving, and avoiding goodbyes. On the search for the "perfect place," she and her Nan live by their Number One Relocation Rule--just the two of them is all they need. But Jubilee's starting to feel like just two is a little too close to alone.

Desperate to settle down, Jubilee plans their next move, Hope Springs, Texas--home of her TV crafting idol, Arletta Paisley. Here she meets a girl set on winning the local fishing tournament and a boy who says exactly the right thing by hardly speaking at all. Soon, Jubilee wonders if Hope Springs might just be the place to call home.

But when the town is threatened by a mega-chain superstore fronted by Arletta Paisley, Jubilee is faced with skipping town yet again or standing up to her biggest bully yet. With the help of her new friends and the one person she never thought she'd need--her Momma--will Jubilee find a way to save the town she's come to love and convince Nan that it's finally time to settle down?

Review Quotes

*"Readers will be enchanted with this tale of family, friendship, and community."

--School Library Connection, starred review

"A promising debut reminiscent of Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie and Deborah Wiles's Aurora County trilogy."

--School Library Journal

"An empowering and endearing must-read."

--Ashley Herring Blake, Stonewall Honor author of Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World

"I loved this heart-rousing, soul-stirring tale of a girl finding her home, her family, her true friends, and the most important thing of all: herself."

--Dan Gemeinhart, author of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

"Quilting offers a perfect metaphor in this thoughtful tale of a tween piecing together a new life."

--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Jaime Berry is a native of rural Oklahoma. After years with two small boys in a too small Brooklyn apartment, Jaime and her husband moved to the wilds of suburban New Jersey and added another boy and a dog to the mix. Hope Springs is Jaime's debut novel. She invites you to visit her at jaimeberryauthor.com or follow her on Twitter @jaime_berry3.