5⭐
Genre ~ middle grade
Setting ~ Utah
Publication date ~ September 6, 2022
Publisher ~ Charlesbridge
Est Page Count ~ 481
POV ~ single 1st written in verse
Featuring ~ based on true events with facts, Dad with cancer, lovely friendships

Cass's (12) father has cancer. It's nothing particularly new to the family since he gets it again and again every other year. But now this year is different. They learn that he carries a gene that Cass has a 50% chance of having, Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Cass will need to decide if she would like to be tested or not, so she makes a pros and cons list. Is it better to know so plans can be made or do you just live life to the fullest and whatever will be will be?

We have to remember that Cass is just a kid, too. She's a preteen and battles with her mom, as mothers and daughters do at this tricky age. She is home-schooled, so there is less risk of bringing germs into their home. She does play on a baseball team and a big part of the story is her wanting to go to the World Series. This could come across as selfish, but this is something the family has done for 7 years straight. This year it might not be possible. She struggles with losing this tradition and tries her hardest to make it happen.

While I don't carry this particular gene or have cancer, at least I don't think so, I do know what it's like to carry a gene that could potentially be passed on to your child. There are so many emotions that go along with this and the emotions are high in this book.

Don't be intimidated by the page count. Since it's written in verse each page is not filled to the brim, so it goes along rather quickly. This is my first time reading a book this way.

Overall, this was a heartbreaking, beautifully inspiring book. The friendships and support system she has are quite lovely.
“And life is real. It really is. And it’s beautiful.”

The author's note is worth the read stating this story was true to her family. Her brother in law sadly passed away from Li-Fraumeni syndrome and the gene was unfortunately passed on to his daughter. Did you know that elephants have 20 copies of the cancer fighting p53 gene?

I really enjoyed this book and thought that it was very easily readable. I love children's sports novels for some reason, maybe it's because of the theme of family you can find in the team setting

5 stars and O. M. G. This novel in verse covers several topics; the love of baseball, family, being twelve, and cancer - always present cancer. Cass's father gets cancer every other year. Turns out he has a rare gene mutation. There's a chance Cass may have it as well. Should she get tested? Her mother is always spinning the positive. Her father is trying to be optimistic. Cass is feeling all the feels, plus the burden of knowing she might have the gene. Hill weaves it all together with empathy but not pity.

Thanks to NetGalley its writer for providing me with an advanced copy.

What a wonderful tale of how Cass and her family dealt with her father's disease. There is always good to be found, Cass recalls her father telling her. She learns that she has a 50% risk of acquiring the same DNA mutation if her father's cancer recurs. Cass worries that this year's annual custom of watching the World Series with her father won't take place. She says to herself.

3.5

I really enjoyed reading this book. A father who suffered from cancer all his life moved me so deeply. The story in this book was so touching. I was almost brought to tears by the hard times and trials faced by Cass.

Pre-teen Cass and her family have been in a battle against her dad's cancer since she was 5 years old. Cancer has affected every aspect of Cass's life. Now that it's back again, and Cass has learned that she may have the same gene as her dad, their life spirals once more. Should Cass get the test to determine if she does indeed have the same gene? Will her dad battle through this time? And what is the connection to Hazel, the elephant in the zoo that is being studied to advance cancer research?

Beautiful writing and an inspiring story of family, friendship and so much more, including baseball. I wish every adolescent child who had a parent battling cancer could read this. This is one of the best of the year for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Charlesbridge Publishing for an advance digital copy of the book.

This book tackles serious themes and topics with compassion and heart. Beautifully written coming of age novel.

Thank you Charlesbridge and NetGalley for the ARC.

This novel in verse about family and making the most of your life and your time with loved ones is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. If you know a kid you loves to cry give them this one!

This was a beautiful book! I was nervous about it being in verse; my students typically shy away from stories written in this way, but this was very well done, and was such a meaningful story. I was swept away.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Given that this plot centers entirely on emotional struggle, on a big decision and the fear of impending loss, it is exceptionally well suited to the verse novel format. There's a fair amount going on in the book between the cancer, the changes of approaching puberty, multiple groups of friends and their interactions, but the author handles it well and doesn't really resolve any of these plots. Solid read.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of The Hope of Elephants by Amanda Rawson Hill.
This is a sweet story about a girl struggling with her father's cancer and concerns for her own genetic make-up. Written in verse, this story is easy to follow. Hill uses poetic form to enhance the images depicted throughout the storyline. Cass' struggles are realistic, and the way she confronts those issues makes her character three dimensional. The author's note at the end adds verification to the story and made me want to know more about this type of cancer.

This book has all the ups and downs of a family dealing with cancer. Cass' dad has cancer and it has turned their world upside down. Cass is not allowed to go to school because she could bring home germs that could be deadly to her dad. Cass' best friend, Jayla, always talks about the places they will go. The problem Cass has with that is not knowing if she will live long enough to go to those places. She may have the same gene as her dad. Does she decide to do the test to see if she does? Read this incredible book to find out.

This was a sweet book and I really enjoyed it! The plot and characters were great and the author definitely told the tale well.

Beautifully written in verse, I was shocked to learn how many pages the finished book is because I couldn’t put it down and read it one sitting. Writing this story in verse was the right decision - a child dealing with her father’s cancer (over and over again) can become a heavy topic, but the poetry helps to lighten the load, lets the reader fill in the spaces with their own responses.
As a cancer survivor myself, and one who carries a genetic indicator, I loved the way Amanda allowed Cass to wrestle with the decision to be tested herself for the gene that continues to threaten her dad’s life. I loved her support group friends and the way they saw and understood each other.
Cass’s determination to get her father to the World Series was relatable even for readers who don’t have a baseball connection. Holding onto traditions and rituals becomes an anchor for Cass, just as her faith is an anchor that provides hope. Recommended for kids who like tearjerkers, but note - this is not a story about death, but about making difficult choices, grieving the losses that come with cancer and illness even when it doesn’t end in death, and finding hope in unexpected places.

The Hope of Elephants is an exceptional middle grade novel (written in verse), telling the story of Cass and her family, who are dealing with the return of her dad's cancer. There are so many beautiful moments captured in the book (based on the real life story of author Amanda Rawson Hill's brother-in-law). As it was once said in You've Got Mail, read this one with a box of tissues. <3

Note: I appreciated the references to the pandemic and the need to be careful of illness when you are ill or immunocompromised. As a family homeschooling with a high-risk child, I saw a lot of our own personal experiences mirrored in The Hope of Elephants.

This book. Oh my god.... Will I ever recover from this moment of pain and sadness?

But also this story gave me hope to be someone better, live each day better and be conscious of the moments that would stay forever.

It's a book written in verse about a Cass whose father's cancer comes back worse than before and has fifty percent chance of inheriting the particular dreaded genes that would cause the same illness.

It's the story of a family's struggle throughout this painful journey from a young child's point of view. It's so well written with all the feels and emotions.

The book is a reminder that nothing lasts forever, try to live life with gratitude and care as much as possible, let your family know they are loved and be more mindful about our days.

Such a beautiful read. I am obsessed with the author's writing! It's so good.

Thank you, Charlesbridge, for the advance reading copy.

The Hope of Elephants is a novel in verse about Cass, whose dad has had cancer in all the odd years of her life. The very last day of her 11th year is no different. The cancer is back and this time they find out it’s because of a gene that her dad has that causes cancer. And Cass could have it as well, she just has to get a test to find out. But does she really want to know? Cass uses her love of baseball to help deal with her ever-changing world. When she discovers that elephants carry a lot of the cancer fighting gene, Cass bonds with the elephant at the nearby zoo. She hopes that the studies being done on the elephant’s genes will help save her dad, and possibly her own life. This is a sweet story with a very age appropriate look at grief and hope, life and death.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I hate to say this, but I really enjoyed this book. The story was so beautifully sad and heartwarming.

Can you imagine your father having cancer for most of your life? Because that’s what Cass has to deal with. But this time they get his diagnosis on her 12th birthday. She also finds out a little later on that she has a 50/50 chance of developing cancer as well. Cass just wants to continue their tradition of going to the World Series game like they have the last 7 years!

This is a wonderful story about faith, family and sticking together when times get tough.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A million thank you's go out to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for allowing me access to this eARC. This book comes out next Tuesday, September 6.

I was about to skip reading this one as I have a far too large chunk of books all coming out next Tuesday but I read the description again and when I read that it's ideal for those who enjoyed Lisa Fipps' Starfish (easily one of the top 5 favorite books of my entire life), I knew I needed to put the rest of the books on hold and I'm so grateful that I did.

Lately, I've really been enjoying middle age books written in verse. Along with Starfish, I've also been greatly moved by Ellen Hopkins's forays into middle grade (What About Will and Closer to Nowhere) as well as Jacqueline Woodson's Before the Ever After. I absolutely love this style, the beauty an author is able to convey in only a line or two, the greater impact the succinctness carries, the ability to deal with a topic that might be a little too heavy for younger readers if tackled in a different format.

I truly can't believe that this is Amanda Rawson Hill's first book and I dearly hope it's not the last. I am passionate about baseball in a way I don't know I'll ever be able to describe and so some of the lines about the connection Cass and her dad are able to share over this beautiful game moved me. I loved her friendship with Jayla, how they'd punnily insert country names into their conversations, and Alex, her brother who just needs a bit more care than other kids.

I feel shook and yet put back together in a truly remarkable way. 5 stars, hands down.

So, in Amanda's own words, I will thank this book for a wonderful story, lay it down softly and move on.

Beautiful and heartbreaking, yet so full of hope and life. This one is going to stick with me for a long time.