Be Ever Hopeful, Hannalee

Hannalee #2

by Patricia Beatty

In 1865 with the war recently over, fourteen-year-old Hannalee and her recently reunited family decide to start a new life in Atlanta where, because of the need to rebuild the devastated city, jobs are plentiful. Sequel to "Turn Homeward, Hannalee."

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Civil War, Historical, Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Patricia Beatty (1922 - 1991) was an American author of award-winning children's and young adult historical fiction novels.

She was born in Portland, Oregon, and was a longtime resident of southern California. After graduating from college, she taught high school English and history, and later held various positions as a science and technical librarian, and also as a children's librarian. She taught Writing Fiction for Children at several branches of the University of California.

She wrote over 50 novels, and co-write 10 of them with her husband, John L. Beatty.

Beatty died in Riverside, California in 1991.

Reviews

[Kailey (Luminous Libro)]

Hannalee and her family move to Atlanta after the Civil War, hoping to find work. Her brother, Davey, lost his arm fighting as a soldier in the Confederate Army, and there isn't much work available that a one-armed man can do. Hannalee and her mother both get jobs to help the family, but Atlanta is overrun with Yankee soldiers and all of Georgia is under martial law. Hannalee worries that the Yankees will be rude and violent, but she discovers that many of them are kind and friendly people.

This was an interesting look at a very weird time in history for Georgia. I liked that the book includes many true historic elements, giving a clear look into history through the lens of these characters.

Hannalee is a complex character. She is torn between being loyal to the Confederacy and hating the Yankees or befriending some really lovely people who just want to help. Eventually, she works through her feelings about the war and learns to move forward with her new friends no matter their race or their politics or their status in life. She learns that there are good and bad people on both sides of the war, and not every issue is as black and white as she used to believe.

I liked the writing pretty well, but it was nothing special. The characters are interesting, but, other than Hannalee, not very memorable. The plot moves along, but I found myself skipping over some of the descriptive paragraphs.

[Ashley]

Another one that I read as a kid and never forgot (except for the title...It has taken me some time to find it again). I didn't realize it was a series so now...I shall be on a mission to read the first one.

[Nancy]

I purchased this book as a possible placement in the reading section of our gift shop for kids. It is the story of a young girl growing up during and after the Civil War in my community. It is well written and researched. I felt the plot less compelling than the book Ms. Beatty wrote chronologically just before this one, Turn Homeward Hannalle. Unfortunately, after deciding it would be a good fit for us, I discovered it is no longer in print and the author has passed.

Too bad. American History is being lost to our students and this book would have been a history lesson as well as a good read for them.

[Cassiejoan]

I read this growing up but had no recollection of it and wanted to see if it was something that we might enjoy in our homeschool or just as a read aloud. I totally missed that this was a sequel until I was half way through my reread, so there's that. This is a story of the South after losing the Civil War and the main characters are very "pro South" yet do not support slavery. I found this a bit *too* convenient, especially since no other explanation for their position is given. This could be valuable for discussing the tension between North and South that remained after the war and the destruction that was done, but in discussing the reasons for the Civil War, I found it lacking.

[Katy Lovejoy]

You never really think about how much the south suffered post civil war...

[Russ]

I briefly hunted for fiction where the characters were surviving in post-war urban settings. That’s when I first became aware of this book set in Atlanta after Sherman burned it. But since it was geared toward children I disregarded it at first. Then I was helping edit a local writer’s book which also happened to involve the Civil War era mill working girls of Roswell, Georgia, who were taken up north as war prisoners, which is basically the backstory of this book too.

So I had a couple of reasons to read it though I don’t have a lot to say to recommend it. The story was OK. The prose was a bit glum, fittingly. As another reviewer pointed out, some of the social or political elements were a bit convenient or sanitized for contemporary readers. But Hannalee is plucky and family-oriented—not exactly inspirational but a decent YA heroine.

[Becca Carlson]

I read this second book in the series aloud to my kiddos this week, and they really enjoyed it. It’s great for discussion on many post-civil war aspects, from the lives of poor white and blacks grappling with a war-torn landscape, to the interactions, relationships and continued hostilities between southerners and northerners.

[Cheryl]

This is one of those rare instances where the sequel book is much better than the first one (at least, in my opinion). It's a good story that held my attention throughout--and I even learned a few things about life in the South after the Civil War.

[Jennifer Rucker]

I enjoyed this sequel to Turn Homeward,Hannalee!

[S.G. Dewey]

Well written simple book about rebuilding life in Atlanta after the end of the war of northern aggression. Good characters and realistic lives.

[Lynn Wells]

Very good. It was interesting to see how people lived after the war.

[Riley]

Read this over Thanksgiving break, I did not like it it was way way way way way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To easy....


Yeah.. :D

[Books Kids Like]

After the war, the Reed family moves to Atlanta hoping for a new start in life. The oldest brother, Davey, thinks he can use his carpentry skills to help rebuild the city, but he is soon disappointed. No one will hire a man with one hand. Mrs. Reed becomes a housekeeper, Hannalee works as a clerk in a cloth store, and Jem sells advertising for the newspaper. Life is hard but pleasant enough. The only dark cloud is Davey's habit of staying out late each night. Mrs. Reed and Hannalee suspect that he has joined the Regulators, a group of Confederates that stir up trouble for the Yankee occupiers. When Davey gets arrested for murdering a Yankee officer, Delie Brackett holds the key to Davey's freedom. She works at the hotel and witnessed the shooting. Hannalee and Mary Anne Herrick (the shop owner's daughter) go to find Delie and bring her back to Atlanta after the black girl runs away.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Melissa]

Another gift in a book exchange, I almost stopped reading this. The writing was only so-so (lots of exclamation points--never a good thing). But the story kept me going--it's about the immediate aftermath of the Civil War in the heart of Atlanta. Not a usual topic for a young adult book, and definitely deals with the mess that was Reconstruction.

[Janice]

I recently bought a bunch of this author's books on-line at used bookstores. This is a sequel to Turn Homeward Hannalee and I think I liked it better than the first one. Both stories deal with poor white southerners and what they dealt with during the Civil War.

[Summer Moeller]

Fascinating, first-person story of living through the Civil War. It's especially interesting if you live in Georgia and can visit some of the spots, including the mill in Roswell, mentioned in the book.

[Courtney Ali]

this book is amazing!!!!!!! :D

[Kaitlin Amber]

Talks more about surviving and living in Atlanta after the war than her finding love, there is a small bit about a boy in the last chapters but that is all. Thought the first book was better

[Rebecca Curtis]

I love these books!

[Leia-Catherine]

This book is really, really, really good. It is about the time right after the Civil War. The end is really good!

[Shaina Arnoux]

This book is awesome!!!!!

[Bev]

Loved it as a kid and look forward to rereading it again soon