Things Hoped For

Gwen is a driven musician. She is seventeen years old and a very talented violinist. As there weren't many opportunities for her to study music in her West Virginia town, she took her grandfather up on his offer to live with him in Manhattan and attend an exclusive private high school focused on music. Every ounce of Gwen's being is concentrated on her upcoming auditions for music colleges. She practices for hours a day and tries to limit distractions. That is one reason she is so distraught by the fighting between her grandfather and his younger brother, who keeps showing up at their house and shouting about money. Then just days before her auditions, Gwen's grandfather disappears. He leaves an answering-machine message for her, instructing her to go on as normal and not to let anyone know that he isn't at home. Of course, Gwen finds these instructions very difficult, and she is extremely concerned about her grandfather's welfare. But because she is brave and organized, she does her best to get through this difficult situation. Gwen is a great character, a strong high school student who has goals and a plan to achieve them. I really liked the details of her relationship with her grandfather, and I liked her relationship with Robert. It was nice to see his character again, after reading about him in an earlier book by this author. It was really interesting to see him from inside a different character's head, and I liked the ways his history was incorporated into Gwen's story.

This is the sequel to Things Not Seen. The third book in the "Things" series is also now available: Things That Are. I consider Andrew Clements a master of storytelling! This little book is packed full of music and literary analogies. His simplistic yet profound way of writing appeals to a wide variety of ages. Here is just one example: "I sleep and I wake just as the bus dives like a whale into the Lincoln Tunnel, and then it plunges up and out into the gray air of the city. The harpooned bus spins around and around and comes to a gasping stop on the floor of the Port Authority terminal. I climb out, Jonah with a suitcase and a cheap violin ..." There is so much involved in this short book. Clements writes for children and teens, but as a slow, fully-grown reader, I am happy to trade extra pages for more substance. In my review for Things Not Seen, I compared Invisibility to Disability. I believe that same comparison can be seen in Things Hoped For, although Invisibility makes a much less prominent appearance. Here is an example "...you do not need to shout in my direction, Gwendolyn. I am presently invisible, but my hearing is unimpaired". When you hit chapter 11 which is titled "No Steak", get ready for the beginning of the ending and more intense happenings than were previously experienced in the book. One of the things I hope for is that this magnificent series continues!

Gwen is a shy and introspective 17-year-old girl, who inhabits a world of classical music. Born and bred in West Virginia, Gwen, a gifted violinist, is currently living in New York with her grandfather so as to further her musical studies. Times look to be particularly intense for the upcoming week as Gwen prepares for her college auditions, in which she'll be playing classical pieces. One day, she comes home and finds that her grandfather had mysteriously vanished, leaving no trail except for a disconcerting message on the phone. In the message, her grandfather asks Gwen to handle things on her own temporarily as he has to go away for a while and, also, to not tell anyone that he's gone away. This proves to be problematic as her very pushy Uncle Hank has been coming over a lot, of late, as he'd been trying to bully Gwen's grandfather into selling the building which they co-own (Uncle Hank is broke, you see, and could use the money). One silver lining for the stressed-out Gwen is that she meets Robert, a fellow teenaged musician and a kindred spirit (Gwen sheepishly rues the fact that Robert has a girlfriend, and a blind one, at that). Robert and his surprising talents come in handy in Gwen's dealings with the persistent Uncle Hank, who just keeps on comin'. But the threat of Uncle Hank pales in comparison to the disquieting shadowman half-glimpsed by Gwen and Robert while in a shoe store... THINGS HOPED FOR is Andrew Clements's loose sequel to the exceptional Things Not Seen. It's a loose sequel because while the main character of THINGS NOT SEEN, Bobby Phillips, appears here as a supporting character and the theme of invisibility is re-introduced, the center of THINGS HOPED FOR is most definitely Gwen. With the story unfolding thru her eyes, Gwen, shy but very gifted musically, proves to be an appealing and vulnerable protagonist. Clements immerses you into Gwen's universe, into her fears and insecurities. You can't help but root for her as she gamely strives to balance her acute nervousness regarding her imminent auditions (and, by extension, her future career) with her worries about her missing, gravely ill grandfather. New York City reverberates to its own rhythms. There's a kind of magic which surfaces when the Big Apple is used as a backdrop, either on the screen or in a book. It's fun reading about Gwen and Robert traipsing down the lively streets of New York, whether it's walking past Carnegie Hall or visiting where John Lennon died. And it's fun watching Gwen being drawn out of her shell and enjoying Robert's company and being out and about. And Gwen's passion for music and poetry, it becomes almost a secondary character, so integral is it to her makeup and so influential to the tone of the book. THINGS HOPED FOR is an absorbing, sensitive coming-of-age fable. You'll find that it reads like a breeze, and that it'll be over before you know it. It's fairly short (only 167 pages), which prompted me to finish it in one go. Andrew Clemen

"Things Hoped For" is a follow-up to Andrew Clements's amazing novel, "Things Not Seen." I won't say exactly how, or why, I'll let it be a surprise as to just how --- as it was for me. If you haven't read "Things Not Seen," I recommend finding it and reading it before reading this book. It's a bit longer, but just as enjoyable, and you'll soon be done and ready to go onto this. This book can definitely be enjoyed without reading "Things Not Seen," but I highly recommend reading it. "Things Hoped For" is about a girl who's approaching her final auditions for music school. She already has a lot to deal with in her life when her Grandpa drops a bombshell --- he's left the house that he's letting her stay in and he's left her a message asking her to watch over it without letting anyone know that he's gone. It's a lot to ask and the pressure starts to build, but then she discovers someone special and unique. He not only helps her out, but he also becomes a friend --- something that she hasn't made time for in her life recently. For those who read "Things Not Seen," "Things Hoped For" is the sequel you've been hoping for. For those that haven't, now is the time to discover this series.

"Things Hoped For" by Andrew Clements (#039924350x) is an exciting 'upper-level' novel by an author with those same qualities. Readers can thoroughly enjoy this book without first encountering "Things Not Seen" which preceded it. The author shares an unusual perspective on the intense performance jitters of music students, involving readers who hope for their success. The tensions parallel more ordinary aspects faced by all high-schoolers, ones they wrestle with each day. With students at music prep schools, there are time restraints & practice goals to contend with as they try to make space for more normal elements of adolescence. Gwen Page comes from West Virginia to study violin and assess her skills against future opportunities. She teams up with Robert, a Chicago student who is also in NYC on track for auditions. Music permeates the background of a story in which ideas about study, concentration & motivation can be applied to the lives of many. The characters are strong but even they find shocking some of what happens to them. They try to make sense of a situation created by the grandfather with whom Gwen lives. The way in which he fights for his old & valuable brownstone will make an indelible impression on readers. "Things Hoped For" has a storyline that may cause skepticism, yet can help young people learn to focus on their own more believable problems. Clements has a deft hand that draws readers in swiftly and carries them along until many pages later they are somewhat breathless. The possibilities in friendship, the 'sweats' of going through the maze of growing up and the sweetness of a trumpet honoring a slain musician, "Hey Jude" - - all contribute to a fantastical novel that reviewer mcHAIKU recommends highly.