Hope and Other Punch Lines

The New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things and What to Say Next delivers a poignant and hopeful novel that poses questions about identity and the extent to which we can control our own narratives.

Imagine that fifteen years ago a photo was taken of a baby being rescued from the World Trade Center on 9/11.
Imagine that you were that baby.

On the fifteenth anniversary of the tragedies of 9/11, sixteen-year-old Abbi is once again in the news. On that fateful day, as a one-year-old child grasping a red balloon and wearing a paper birthday crown, she was being carried safely away from the devastation when an iconic photograph was taken of her and the young woman holding her. Thus, Abbi was lovingly celebrated as Baby Hope.

The fame had been a curse. At a time when Abbi would rather blend in than stand out in high school, the notoriety made her a pariah to some. Now that it's summer, Abbie sees this time as an opportunity to shed that forced identity and present a new self. As a counselor at a day camp she meets Noah, who reveals that he knows her secret. Will he help or hinder her efforts to forge a new identity and move forward, beyond the burden of what she is supposed to represent?