Frannie is growing up in the early 1970’s when segregation is no longer allowed, but still exists.  Her town is divided in two.  African Americans on one side and Caucasians on the other.  Her teacher reads aloud a poem about hope to the class and it inspires Frannie to consider hope more thoroughly.  She is not religious, her mother keeps having miscarrages, her brother is deaf…she is not too certain about this thing called hope.  But as she looks at those around her despite their suffering she realizes they still have hope.  Her brother, despite the fact that he cannot hear is still optimistic and happy.  Her friend Samantha is super religious and when a new boy nicknamed Jesus arrives she wonders what if he was Jesus returned to help the world.  Frannie doesn’t believe this but she admires the hope in Samantha’s eyes.  When she finds out her mother is pregnant again, she is sad because she is sure her mother will lose the baby.  But the way her parents talk about the new baby growing fills everyone with hope.  Even the new boy, who is teased at first because of his light skin…has hope.  He was adopted by an African American family when he was little and living on the white side of town he wasn’t accepted.  His parents told him the African American side of town was very welcoming.  It takes a while, but soon the children at school realize “Jesus” is just a kid like them looking for a place to belong.

I was touched by the hopes and of dreams of each of the characters.  Anyone who has changed schools, knows how hard it can be to be the new kid.  I admired the way Frannie helped the school bully up when he fell.  I also admired the way Jesus Boy was no confrontational until he absolutely had to be.  He used his words instead of his fists as his primary self defense.  Most of all I enjoy the hope floating through the air at the end of the story.  Will Frannie’s new sibiling survive?  Will Jesus Boy and Frannie start dating?

Holling Hoodhood has officially inspired me to reread Shakespeare.  I know what you are thinking, a librarian who hasn’t read Shakespeare?!  The horror!  Well I have read some of Shakespeare’s plays…especially Romeo and Juliet since I taught it to my eighth grade classes for the past six years.  However, after Holling’s reviews of Shakespeare’s plays in The Wednesday Wars I feel like I am missing out on some of his other plays.  I hope that when young people read this book they will also be inspired to read some of Shakespeare’s plays and see what all the hooplah is about.

Mrs. Baker hates Holling Hoodhood.  At least that’s what he thinks, since she tortures him by making him read Shakespeare every Wednesday.  While all the other kids in seventh grade go to Catechism or Hebrew school, Holling has to remain with Mrs. Baker since he is Presbyterian.  It turns out that Holling enjoys reading Shakespeare each Wednesday with Mrs. Baker.  She is strict and often does the teacher “stare.” But she comes alive when she reads Shakespeare with Holling.  He starts to see her as a person and not just a teacher.  Shakespeare starts to influence Holling’s life.  He starts memorizing lines (especially the curses) and using them in everyday speech. It even becomes almost a secret code between him and Mrs. Baker.  He ends up performing in the Long Island Shakespeare Company’s Holiday Extravaganza.  The problem is…he has to wear yellow tights with feathers on the butt.  He hopes no one at school will see him, imagine what would happen if his classmates saw him playing the role of a fairy and wearing yellow tights with feathers!  It wouldn’t be a good thing.  Just when he thinks Mrs. Baker has started to like him, she announces to the class that for extra credit they can go see Holling’s play!  He is mortified at the thought of his classmates seeing him.  In the end he is more embarrassed by the fact that hardly anyone shows up, including his parents (who preferred to stay home and watch It’s A Wonderful Life on T.V.)  Mrs. Baker is there for him in the front row.  Through out the book, she is the constant in his life.  While his father is busy trying to do whatever it takes to win the bid on the next architecture assignment, he misses out on Holling’s accomplishments.  His father has always told him to make sure he doesn’t embarrass himself, because one day he will inherit the architecture firm Hoodhood and Associates.  Holling begins to realize he wants to find out who he is and not have his future determined for him by his father.

I appreciated the vocabulary of this novel, including words such as nefarious with context clues to help the reader figure out the meaning.  It was laugh out loud funny at some points.