Review Detail

I don't tend to enjoy nonfiction, so I love it when an author takes the time to do excellent research and then composes a work of fiction that is readable, enjoyable, and accurate. Kristin Tubb has done just that with her middle-grade novel "Selling Hope," based on the passing of Halley's Comet in 1910.
Hope McDaniels is a thirteen-year-old girl who is the magician's assistant in her father's act on the minor vaudeville circuit. As the troupe heads toward Chicago, the McDaniels's former home town, Hope gets the sense that her father is about to be fired. To prepare for this eventuality, Hope hatches a plan that will allow her to save up money so that she can convince her dad to settle down in the city where she last had a real home. Hope decides to take advantage of people's fear of the comet and sell "anti-comet" pills. She enlists the help of Buster Keaton (who really was a vaudeville performer in 1910) and their age-appropriate romance adds a little spark that tween readers will enjoy.
With historical accuracy -- chapter titles are even taken from real 1910 headlines -- Kristin Tubb weaves a lovely story of a girl who has had to grow up fast, but who dreams of a "normal" life.