Hope in the Holler by Lisa Lewis Tyre

Eleven-year-old Wavie Conley just lost her mother to cancer. Never knowing her father, Wavie is now an orphan. A caseworker for the state, Mrs. Chapman, informs Wavie that her mother's sister, Samantha Rose, is now claiming Wavie. Not ever being told that she even has an aunt, and whether she likes it or not, Wavie is uprooted and will have to be under the care of  Samantha Rose, who lives in a small town called Conley Holler in the Kentucky Appalachian back country. The memory of her mother is what keeps her going. Her mother left Wavie a list of instructions before she died, including  "Be brave, Wavie B! You got as much right to a good life as anybody, so find it!"

Samantha Rose, her son, Hoyt, and disabled uncle Philson, live in a ramshackle, unkempt  house. Wavie's typically organized world is turned upside down when she moves in. Samantha Rose is nothing like her giving mother; self-centered and motivated by what works for her. Wavie is soon ordered to cleaning the filthy house, both inside and out. She soon meets Gilbert, who fills her in on the way the Holler works, and Camille who is the smartest girl in school and whose family fills the void left by Samantha Rose. Wavie needs to find a way out of the Holler before Samantha Rose is granted permanent guardianship by the courts.  Along with her new friends, she uncovers mysteries of the Holler and eventually reveals a dark Conley family secret that could save her from the wrath of Samantha Rose.

A very sweet. simple story. Probably will be of more interest to 4-6th grades. Good discussion points are life as an orphan, living in intolerable circumstances, and living in poverty. 

Mark's Book Picks Score: 3.5

Reading Level: 4.3 • Interest Level: 5-7 • AR Points: 7 • Lexile Level: 660 • Publisher: Penguin • Pages: 212 • Copyright: 2019 • ISBN: 978-0-399-54632-7 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding

CYRM 2020/21 Nominee, Middle School