Hope Against Hope

In 1921 Ireland, Protestant unionists wanting to remain part of Britain are embroiled in heated encounters with Catholic nationalists fighting to form their own country. Every citizen is feeling the effects of the conflict, including the family of 15-year-old Polly McCabe. Her older brother Leo, whose experience fighting in WWI left him with PTSD and led to increased drinking, is labeled a traitor by fellow Catholics for having fought in the British Army. Impetuous and outspoken Polly has resentfully kept house for her father and Leo since her mother’s death during the influenza pandemic, but when an argument between her and Leo turns violent, Polly runs away to Helen’s Hope, a girls’ hostel in Belfast, to join a beloved cousin. Polly cultivates community at Helen’s Hope, where Catholic and Protestant girls live and work together peacefully despite intense in-fighting in the surrounding city. Her understanding of Leo’s post-war suffering comes slowly and credibly through her experiences in Belfast, as does her realization that her frequent “pashes” on girls might be more than passing fancies. A somewhat typically plotted story, this compact novel by Wilkinson (Street Song) stands out for its empathetic exploration of living through a watershed historical moment. Ages 10–14. (May)