Hope Defined

by Shannon Humphrey

HOPE
The torture began in sixth grade. Hope should never have told the other kids in Opal Lake that she has weird dreams. Or that these dreams inspire her to invent objects that fly. Now in eighth grade, she’s the outsider nobody wants. Things get worse when Hope takes the top grade in science. She becomes a threat to eighth grade queen Caitlin Crawford and her privileged clique for the school’s highest award, the prestigious Sky Honors.

Caitlin preys on Hope’s loneliness and concocts a scheme. As Hope’s life spirals, the dreams won’t stop. Why does the girl in them look like a perfect version of her?

DINAH
Perfection is the only way of life the Scions know. In Tavos, they exist in peace, traveling through the galaxies, creating planets and manipulating stars. The standard of achievement is nothing less than excellence. Until the hard voices awaken Dinah. Deep punches pierce her. And the desperate eyes pull at her insides. A mysterious force begins to crack the perfect equilibrium of their world. Neither King Aleph nor Dinah’s father gives her the answers she seeks. Who is the withering young female in those horrible visions? What does it mean to… suffer?

Dinah is bold enough to pursue her own truth. But is she strong enough to handle Hope’s?

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 8, 2013

About the author

Shannon Humphrey is a science fiction and action and adventure author who also writes as S.Y. Humphrey. She is the author of Hope Defined Sci-Fi Coming of Age series, Skin Trials Action and Adventure series, and Blood Republic epidemic thriller series.

Reviews

[S.A. Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story

Hope is a girl on earth and she has been having dreams of something that she just cannot understand. Her dreams are driving her and shows Hope her best creative skills. But the dreams are the ones that are making her lonely at school because she is unable to fit in. Her 'friends' are trying to convince her to give her dreams up to pursue a normal life.
Dinah is from another planet and she is trying to connect to Hope, with whom she is connected by the realm of dreams.
The story is original and alternates with the POV between Dinah and Hope. The story also deals with how Hope deals with her bullies and the end is about whether Hope manages to find the answers that she has wanted. Interesting story. Liked it. 

[Si Clarke]

DNF at 44%

I'm so sorry. I wanted to like this. It's a great story with an important message – but the lack of editing made it just too hard.

To be fair on the author, with a few rounds of editing, I think this could be a cracking book. If she ever re-releases it, I'd love to give it another go.

[Evelyn Goughnour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I really loved the way this book was written and all the characters in it the ones on earth and the ones in space.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take a scientifically-minded girl and her alien "other half" who can control electrical impulses and resides on a different planet and connect them via a sort of dream realm and you'll have the basis of Shannon Humphrey's Hope Defined. There's the old adage you have to see to believe, but you also have to be ready to see, experience, and accept those things, which seems to be a takeaway from the text.

To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website:http://jenpaul13.wix.com/makinggoodst....

Hope, the scientifically-minded and ambitious 13 year old girl, is bullied in her neighborhood and school for trying to be white and acting better than those she grew up with in a less than stellar town. Hope gets her ideas for her inventions when she's sleeping, when she sees Dinah, a girl who looks like her but happens to emit a light from within her, and is inspired from what Dinah can do. Hope desperately wants to be an astrophysicist and through a school competition, she would have a chance at getting to study at MIT during the summer to broaden her scientific skills and improve her collegiate options. And all that Hope has to overcome is her bullies, her mother, and her own lack of self-confidence to succeed. And that's no small feat to confront.

The story is imbued with racial issues, classist issues, bullying and abuse, as well as science fiction elements for Dinah's chapters. It was refreshing to read a book from a young black narrator, if only to harp on the #WeNeedDiverseBooks aspect of the publishing industry. But not since I read Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God in high school have I enjoyed reading a story rich in African American Vernacular English.

I must say that I was more excited by the possibilities of this concept than I was satisfied with the execution of it I the end. Maybe it was simply due to my lack of engagement and connection to Dinah and her "world" that I felt let down; or maybe it stems from the loose connection between the two entities' stories, which made it seem as if Humphrey was trying to tackle too much in a finite story space.

Overall, I'd give it a 3 out of 5.

[Barbara Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

HopeDefined,pic

This book is a tale of two heroines; Hope, a thirteen year old wannabe astrophysicist, struggling to make a difference in the “hood” on Earth, and Dinah, one of the scions who travel space creating planets and chasing the stars. Hope must overcome bullies and racism; Dinah must figure out how to control the forces struggling to tear her being apart.

Humphrey succeeds in writing a book that addresses problems many middle grade students face, bullying and racism, while at the same time facing how to “come of age.” The parallel science fiction story of Dinah, who is being tested in her world, lends an appealing element to the middle grade reader. Hope is truly a creative genius, but she is faced with opposition from her black friends who want her to give up her “nerdiness” and just fit in, while at the same time fighting to compete with the white kids who are jealous of her and scheme to get her in trouble. Her mother does not understand her devotion to her studies, but a neighbor named Mr. Lewis is willing to help. Hope has strange dreams about a girl who looks like her and gives her confidence; Dinah struggles with a strange feeling that she is needed to help someone, but does not understand how or where this impulse originates.

The plot details the kind of experiences middle school students face everyday and portrays situations with which they can empathize. I highly recommend this book to parents and teachers as a starting point of discussions on bullying and racism. It raises many situations that should be raised before these issues arise. Children age nine and up will find this a compelling read and a useful resource for answering may of their questions in a nonjudgmental fashion. This story teaches and does not preach; a most effective way to reach the minds of tweens and young teens.

[Star · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hope is a very intelligent and thoughtful young girl who dreams of making things fly. Now at thirteen, she doesn’t fit in with the kids in her neighborhood or the kids at the preppy school she attends. She avoids the other kids, who like to pick on her, as much as possible and devotes all her time to science. This threatens some of her classmates who want to win the school’s highest honors and so they come up with a plan to make sure Hope doesn’t win. The plan works all too well as Hope is desperate to belong and while Hope’s life is now falling apart, her dreams become more and more real of a girl who can fly and looks just like Hope…but better. Dinah is a Scion on Tavos and she is held to the highest of standards as the Scions expect nothing less than perfection. Now Dinah’s dreams are haunted by a girl who is miserable and suffering. How are Hope and Dinah connected and what does it all mean?

‘Hope Defined’ is more than the story of Hope and Dinah, but the story of countless kids who deal with bullying every day. Hope longs to fit in and to discover if the amazing world she dreams about is real. Dinah strives daily for perfection as it is what is always expected of her, but the dreams and feelings of the hurting girl from Earth is shattering her world. As the truth becomes more evident for both Hope and Dinah, their worlds will never be the same. I feel ‘Hope Defined’ is a great book for parents to read with their middle-school age kids. There are a lot of different issues which can be talked through and sometimes a great book is the best way to facilitate those discussions. ‘Hope Defined’ will definitely make a lasting impression on every reader.

[Jasmine Villanova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beneath the Moon and Stars review

This was an interesting read. I didn't love it but I did enjoy it. It had a very unique concept but not so great characters.



This had two stories tied into one with alternating point of view. One the story of a supernatural being in a galaxy far away. The other an average human with an amazing brain.


The thing that annoyed me about the two main characters was one was very mature and complex, the other very young and average. I enjoyed Hope more because it was easy to follow her story. Hope wasn't immature at all it was the world around her. It was overdone. I enjoyed Dinah but I couldn't keep up with her world. There was a lot of unexplained meanings. But, I enjoyed both characters and their stories.


The best part of this story was how fast it was. Once I got into it, I couldn't stop reading. I also loved how complex it was. I loved Hope's science and the astronomy part of Dinah's world. There was a fair share of action on both sides. Overall this was a good read. It took awhile to get into but ended up being great! If you liked complexity and unique worlds this is for you!

[OOSA · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Darkness within Hope

Shannon Humphrey’s “Hope Defined” is a very empowering short story that gives hope to others as we continue to struggle with various issues daily.

Hope is a young black girl forced to join a new school that refuses to accept her due to the color of skin regardless of her brains. Hope is determined to make matters better, but before they can get better, she must endure the worse. During her experience, Hope learns new things about her negative surroundings that make her a strong person within.

I would definitely recommend this novel, especially to teenagers who I feel will benefit the most. “Hope Defined” is a well-written novel. Excellent work!

Reviewed by: Tekisha

[Carla Ramsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hope Defined takes a fresh look at an age-old problem--bullying. The author sets her story in parallel worlds, the earth bound one of young Hope who fights daily to keep her head up and hold her own and the terrestrial one in which she is a brilliant young warrior in training who has all the confidence her earthly counterpart lacks. In both worlds Hope faces family problems with which all young adult readers can identify. Humphrey has created an inspiration for those who struggle with self esteem while providing a genuinely good read for readers of all ages. Good job, Ms Humphrey. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the author's next.

[Beckie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will do my review for the author very soon.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5? I liked this one, but I didn't love it. The characters were kind of blah and I didn't see the connection between the two stories. Very interesting idea, though!

[Wscott1386gmail.Com]

I'm an avid reader but this was just too hard to read and keep up with. I quit after the third chapter