Fiction

A Boy Called Hope

A Boy Called Hope

  • Downloads：1438
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-29 10:12:14
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lara Williamson
  • ISBN：1474922929
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

I'm Dan Hope and deep inside my head I keep a list of things I want to come true。

For example， I want my sister， Ninja Grace， to go to university at the North Pole and only come back once a year。

I want to help Sherlock Holmes solve his most daring mystery yet。 And if it could be a zombie mystery， all the more exciting。

I want my dog to stop eating the planets and throwing them up on the carpet。

And finally， the biggest dream of all， I want my dad to love me。

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Reviews

Helen ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 3。5*A sad story， but peppered throughout with the enthusiasm and youthful humour of the 11 year old protagonist。There are a few storylines running throughout the book， but the main one is that when the boy is 7 years old， his dad leaves him， his mum， and his sister for the lady that works at the local chip shop。 4 years later and the boy doesn’t understand why his dad doesn’t see him， speak to him， or even send him a birthday card each year。 He tries using the phone book to contact him， then tri 3。5*A sad story， but peppered throughout with the enthusiasm and youthful humour of the 11 year old protagonist。There are a few storylines running throughout the book， but the main one is that when the boy is 7 years old， his dad leaves him， his mum， and his sister for the lady that works at the local chip shop。 4 years later and the boy doesn’t understand why his dad doesn’t see him， speak to him， or even send him a birthday card each year。 He tries using the phone book to contact him， then tries emailing him， but still no response。 Everybody else in his life seems to have moved on， but he still wants his dad， and still idolises him， thinking of his dad as a hero。 He then finds out his dad lives just 20 minutes away， and realises it was a choice There is more to this book than just the tale of an absent father， and that’s what made it more realistic。 。。。more

Sarah ，

Dan Hope has a humorous and warm inner voice that narrates this story of struggling to make sense of life。 His family has broken up and he’s not sure why。 His friendships become shaky as he fixates on his missing father。 There is plenty to laugh about in this book and also somber moments to realise that relationships are complicated and even those closest to us can disappoint。 The message of hope is a good one。 Dan holds onto it and so should we。

Kristyn Hiemstra ，

Read out loud to Z。 He enjoyed it， but I found the plot to be erratic and that it skimmed over the very “deep” issues it tried to address。

Anna ，

Great book

Jean Kirby ，

This is a family story about parents separating and coming to terms with the grief over losing a father to another family。 Dan Hope is a young boy living with his teenage sister who is angry and his Mum who has found a new partner。 He has friends at school and has daily problems dealing with his teacher， who wants him to concentrate more， and his classmates。 Anyone who likes Ross Welford or Lisa Thompson's books will probably also enjoy Lara Williamson's thoughtful， but funny books about relatio This is a family story about parents separating and coming to terms with the grief over losing a father to another family。 Dan Hope is a young boy living with his teenage sister who is angry and his Mum who has found a new partner。 He has friends at school and has daily problems dealing with his teacher， who wants him to concentrate more， and his classmates。 Anyone who likes Ross Welford or Lisa Thompson's books will probably also enjoy Lara Williamson's thoughtful， but funny books about relationships and families and school and the normal problems school-children go through。 I really enjoyed this book。 。。。more

Charlotte-Ann Cartwright ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was so easy to read that I finished it in two days。 Yes， it was a middle-grade book and had larger text on the pages， but I read it so quickly because I simply didn't want to put it down。 I laughed out loud at a lot of the humour in this book， enjoying the perspective of a young child going through some tough times just as I did when I was younger。 Now that I'm older and know a lot more than I did when I was 11 （the same age as Dan Hope）， it was almost nostalgic to see the world from h This book was so easy to read that I finished it in two days。 Yes， it was a middle-grade book and had larger text on the pages， but I read it so quickly because I simply didn't want to put it down。 I laughed out loud at a lot of the humour in this book， enjoying the perspective of a young child going through some tough times just as I did when I was younger。 Now that I'm older and know a lot more than I did when I was 11 （the same age as Dan Hope）， it was almost nostalgic to see the world from his innocent eyes。 I think the ending touched me the most。 I've never had a real father figure in my life either， so I understood why Dan was so upset with his dad。 I was proud of him when he let his dad go， and I'm relieved happy that the Hope family are finally at peace。 They deserve it。 A truly wonderful book。 I think I gasped out loud when it was revealed that Christopher was Kit！ Mind-blowing stuff！ I do hope that The Papercuts make it big one day， even if they're not singing 'Over the Rainbow'。 。。。more

Izzy Smith ，

wow。 this book was very sad yet at the same time was quite funny。 3。5 stars。

Lola ，

That was a good heart moving story

BunnyStrawb ，

my friend told me to read this！ i recommend it I love when he got distracted multiple times

Zümra ，

Güzel bir kitaptı okumanızı tavsiye ederim duygusal kitap seviyorsanız ama çok da abartılı bir duygusallığı olmayan bir kitap arıyorsanız bu tam size göre

Ivan Lo ，

God I love this bookARE YOU KIDDING ME？！ WHAT IS THERE NOT TO LIKE ABOUT IT？！ HECK， I RECOMMEND IT TO EVERYBODY （ Except those people who don't like books。。。） God I love this bookARE YOU KIDDING ME？！ WHAT IS THERE NOT TO LIKE ABOUT IT？！ HECK， I RECOMMEND IT TO EVERYBODY （ Except those people who don't like books。。。） 。。。more

Sophie Nicholls ，

It was beautifully written， and so emotional I cried with all my heart。 Would recommend to everyone。

Ellie Matthews ，

I completely understand what this book was trying to achieve but I just found it really problematic throughout。 I really struggled with the main character and narrator， who is an eleven year old boy。 He comes across as really immature and quite obnoxious， however the circumstances in his life appear to be the excuse for this - which I don’t agree with as a concept。 Whilst I may be more cynical as family separation is a topic I feel strongly about， I just couldn’t get on board with a lot of the m I completely understand what this book was trying to achieve but I just found it really problematic throughout。 I really struggled with the main character and narrator， who is an eleven year old boy。 He comes across as really immature and quite obnoxious， however the circumstances in his life appear to be the excuse for this - which I don’t agree with as a concept。 Whilst I may be more cynical as family separation is a topic I feel strongly about， I just couldn’t get on board with a lot of the messages or with Dan as a character。 A lot of Dan’s thoughts and actions （as well as those of his older sister） raise questions for me about whether they would influence children negatively。 There was a lot going on in this book - probably too much - and I got the sense that Williamson was trying almost too hard to establish the child narrator， making it less authentic。 I’m glad I read it to the end as the final chapter is really lovely and would be really useful for children going though similar experiences， but it didn’t make up for the rest of the book for me。 I’m not sure who this book is aimed at， but I would be incredibly cautious about giving it to a child in primary school as it is very intense and covers a lot of topics that I wouldn’t necessarily want to expose them to。 。。。more

B WildeBerry ，

A good story that keeps you turninh the pages。 There are some tear jerking moments and some hilarious ones where I laughed out loud。The ending is overegged a little， but overall， it's well worth a read。 A good story that keeps you turninh the pages。 There are some tear jerking moments and some hilarious ones where I laughed out loud。The ending is overegged a little， but overall， it's well worth a read。 。。。more

Rosie ，

Thos book tells the Story of Dan Hope whose family life has been confusing since his father left to be with another woman。 Throughout the book Dan tries reaching out to his dad with no luck。 But whilst pining for the love of his dad he doesn’t realise that his family is being made whole again as his mums new boyfriend joins the family。A Boy Called Hope is an entertaining text with lots of relatable themes throughout， exploring friendships， grief and families - nuclear families， single parent fam Thos book tells the Story of Dan Hope whose family life has been confusing since his father left to be with another woman。 Throughout the book Dan tries reaching out to his dad with no luck。 But whilst pining for the love of his dad he doesn’t realise that his family is being made whole again as his mums new boyfriend joins the family。A Boy Called Hope is an entertaining text with lots of relatable themes throughout， exploring friendships， grief and families - nuclear families， single parent families， and step parent families。 。。。more

Rossy Dourado ，

This book is in the point of view of a 11 year old boy 'Daniel Hope' and his endless love for his father who left them。 The pages depicts his struggles， his vulnerability， his immense longing for his father to return。It explores the young mind of a child and how he feels alone about his father leaving hum， and how he is determined to find him and tell him all his feelings that are bubbling in his absence。This Book is such an amazing read for all the young readers， it transported me back to when This book is in the point of view of a 11 year old boy 'Daniel Hope' and his endless love for his father who left them。 The pages depicts his struggles， his vulnerability， his immense longing for his father to return。It explores the young mind of a child and how he feels alone about his father leaving hum， and how he is determined to find him and tell him all his feelings that are bubbling in his absence。This Book is such an amazing read for all the young readers， it transported me back to when I was a young child。 The feelings of Dan are so raw that they make you feel immense emotions and ponder on how much parent's decision affect the children， and what the children go through without the parent's knowledge。 。。。more

Hannah ，

There was some very good vocabulary in this and I know that some of the children in the class would’ve found it funny。 I did wonder about whether some of the themes were slightly old for year 5 though and I didn’t really love it。 I think there was something about the characters and the humour that put me off。

DenXXX ，

A book which gives you a different look at life in school and how wires can easily be crossed。

Frankie ，

This book is utterly OUTSTANDING！ The quality of Lara’s writing blow me away！ I simply LOVED this book！ Dan， the main character， came alive throughout the pages of this book， I felt what he was feeling！ I honestly can’t rate this book enough！ You should read it！！

Annie Rose ，

Good👍。

Denise Forrest ，

This is a lovely story about family。 Dan is desperate to reconnect with his dad after he walked out on them when he was seven， but without success。 Meanwhile his family is changing in other ways。 Dan finally comes to terms with the fact that families come in all shapes and sizes and that change isn’t always a bad thing。I found the story a bit slow to get going but I’m glad I stuck with it。

Simon ，

3。5 * Actual rating。 I really enjoyed the last two-thirds of the book despite a somewhat slow start。 It really comes through in the ending which is poignant and memorableQuirky， amusing， touching， frivolous yet emotional story of 11-year old Sherlock Holmes fan， Dan Hope。 All Dan really wants above all else is for his Dad to love him。 Trouble is， Dan's dad is a POS。 He ran off with the vinegary scented Busty Babs from the chippy when Dan was 7， which was the last time they would speak。 Enter Mum 3。5 * Actual rating。 I really enjoyed the last two-thirds of the book despite a somewhat slow start。 It really comes through in the ending which is poignant and memorableQuirky， amusing， touching， frivolous yet emotional story of 11-year old Sherlock Holmes fan， Dan Hope。 All Dan really wants above all else is for his Dad to love him。 Trouble is， Dan's dad is a POS。 He ran off with the vinegary scented Busty Babs from the chippy when Dan was 7， which was the last time they would speak。 Enter Mum's new fella， car-mechanic， soft， and very forgiving Big Dave。 Fantastic character and all-round good guy。 He was my favourite part of the book。 Dan together with his sister Ninja Grace （she can kill you with her barbed words） concoct a scheme to expose Big-Dave as they believe he's cheating on Mum with Caroline 1973， a name tattooed on Daves' arm。 Turns out he's a Status Quo fan and that's his favourite song。 They proceeded to almost burn his home to the ground during the said scheme。Dan's two best mates at school are Jo （religious fanatic） and Chris （martial artist， guitar player and as is later revealed， Big Dave's son）。 There are ups and downs at school for Dan， he falls out with Chris， they fight， they make-up， typical stuff， I found Jo's constant saintly references a bit monotonous。 However， this led to her giving Dan a Saint Gabriel medal， he then had to make 10 wishes for the Saint to make one come true， this theme ran through the story。 Despite a childish sense of humour， I found some of the jokes throughout the book a bit tedious and forced but they often hit the spot and Dan， a pretty sharp-witted character。Once Dan found out that his Dad was a TV presenter he tried contacting him several times to no avail （POS）。 You couldn't help but feel sorry for Dan， the role-play conversations he had playing both himself and his dad were heart-rending。 He even broke into the TV studio pretending to be on work experience， but still， his father wouldn't recognise him （POS）。Dans' school teacher， Miss Parfitt （another status quo reference） tells the class of Project Eco Everywhere （PEE） which ends with a stage show at a local hotel。 This gives Dan the idea that he will get to meet his Dad finally as the show will be filmed by the local television broadcaster。 Dan played a heroic rendition of over the rainbow during a power-cut to amuse everyone only to find his dad left after reading his name on the school show program （POS）。Due to the fire incident， and Mum's surprise pregnancy， everyone ends up forming a happy family and moving in together。 Little Dave in Mum's tum tuned out to be twin girls， Faith and Hope。 Dan though remains determined to confront Dad， when he finds out he's very ill and dies after a short illness leaving poor Dan heartbroken。 Big Dave comes to his rescue， calls him son， offers fatherly advice and security and together they later send up a lantern which is Dan's way of finally letting go and saying goodbye to his dad。 I think it was a nice way to end the story but I was a little angry with his Mum for defending his POS dad right to the ending。（may edit more later when I've considered the book a little more） 。。。more

Laura Atkinson ，

This book was really funny 。 I laughed so hard at some of the parts it hurt 。 Daniel is a relatable character who is annoyed by his sister （ Grace） and hurt from his past。 I would advise that you are over nine to read it 。 （ from nine to twelve age range to read it probably）

Anna Logvynova ，

Очень смешная， грустная и， пожалуй， не совсем детская книга。Одна из лучших вещей， прочитанных в этом году。

Gabby ，

I loved this book for many reasons all of the the plot twists made me want to read more and more each time and near towards the end it almost made me cry because of the massive twist it took this is definitely a book worth reading。 I would highly recommend this book for 7 to 13-14 because of some bits of the book are confusing and tricky。 “ A book worth reading is a worth buying “ John Ruskin

Zahraa Marhoon ，

Life can't stand still even if we wanted it to。Hell would need to freeze over before my apology is accepted。Let him go and eventually he'll come back。"Can you switch off love？""I don't believe you can。 Not truly。 Not completely"。 P#274Saying you love someone is very important。 You should have told me， at least once。 P#279 Life can't stand still even if we wanted it to。Hell would need to freeze over before my apology is accepted。Let him go and eventually he'll come back。"Can you switch off love？""I don't believe you can。 Not truly。 Not completely"。 P#274Saying you love someone is very important。 You should have told me， at least once。 P#279 。。。more

Tasya ，

Very heartwarming and sad at the same time and this book really shows the meaning of never giving up and having 'Hope'。 Very heartwarming and sad at the same time and this book really shows the meaning of never giving up and having 'Hope'。 。。。more

Katie Beattie ，

I thought this book was beautiful and moving but it was very predictable and full of cliches！

Kirsty ，

This book was amazing， I found it quite emotional in the end。 well worth reading and would recommend

Karen Cook ，

You know it's good when it brings out this much emotion。 It does not stink like cabbage leaves with stilton cheese on cauliflower。 🤓 You know it's good when it brings out this much emotion。 It does not stink like cabbage leaves with stilton cheese on cauliflower。 🤓 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Boy Called Hope

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Boy Called Hope&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Boy Called Hope&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0