Dear Author: Letters of Hope

by Joan F. Kaywell

To millions of kids, the books they read are more than entertainment— they are mirrors to hold up to their own lives. And the creators of those books are more than just writers—they are mentors, confidants, friends, sometimes the only ones who understand. There is often an unspoken, unseen bond between an author and his or her readers. Dear Author brings this bond to light for the whole world to see and to celebrate. Laurie Halse Anderson, Chris Crutcher, Jerry Spinelli, Christopher Paul Curtis, and many more of today’s bestselling YA authors respond to this intimate mix of heartbreaking and heartwarming letters, giving a glimpse into the hearts and souls of kids today, and the writers who have changed their lives. It’s nothing short of inspirational.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Heather Toombs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saving lives, encouragement, hope, heart-jerking and an emotional roller coaster are all words i think of when this book is mentioned. The letters to the author's were deep and thoughtful. The people who wrote those letters were needing help and they found that help within the walls of a book, a book that chose them. You know when a book is just meant for you and reading these letters shows that any book can touch the live of someone, anyone. A book is never just a book for someone who needs that book. Also the response from the Author's had me amazed. I've never written an author before and now i just might! These Authors wrote back such real responses you know they weren't just a generic fan letter to them. They used the details mentioned in the original letters and commented on them, acknowledged everything that was sad and sent back a beautiful perfect letter that i know made the original letter writers even more happy than the book itself! Read this book!!

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Author: Letters of Hope is a beautiful book about what teenagers face in today's world. Joan F. Kaywell did a great job compiling true stories of teenagers or young adults writing to authors and expressing their appreciation for their books. This book not only reveals how many teenagers may feel with the trials in their lives, but it also contains advice from the authors.
One thing I loved about this book was how revealing these teenagers decided to be toward an author; they shared many details about how their personal lives connect with the protagonist of the author's book. One example of this is with a girl named Gabriella who confessed her teen pregnancy and drug addiction to Marilyn Reynolds, an author who wrote the books Telling as well as But What About Me, and shared her connection with those books. I truly admired that. One thing I didn't enjoy about this book was how every letter to an author and the author's reply never had a reply from the teenager back to the author. I would have liked to know what the teenager thought about the author's reply.
I would rate this book four out of five stars. Every story was filled with emotion, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys feeling connected to a book.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kaywell, Joan F., editor Dear Author: Letters of Hope, 222 p. - Language: G; Sexual Content: PG (a girl wrote to the author of Speak who had a similar experience as the character in that book); Violence: G -

This book is a collection of letters that everyday teenagers have sent in to various authors and the authors' responses to these letters. I really liked reading this book because I could relate to a lot of the letters in there. Reading the responses and the encouragement the authors gave was in a way helpful to me. I liked reading about the real world from the eyes of teenagers through their letters and it helps you see that you aren't alone, no matter what your situation.

MS, HS, ADVISABLE. Student Reviewer: JH
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2007/...

[Trinity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Author: Letters of Hope is one of the most moving books I have ever read. Joan F. Kaywell takes moving and powerful stories written by people of varying ages to authors. It contains some of their most tragic stories. Some being about suicide and some being about abuse and many other challenging things. However, it shows how through these books that authors have made, it changed these peoples' lives and gave them hope on the outlook of their own circumstances. As a person who has struggled with my own battles reading these book showed me I wasn't alone, and not only that, but that there was hope. I would recommend this book to anyone who need a little more hope in themselves or even the world in general. It's an excellent read to reinstall hope in humanity in our minds. Hope that otherwise may have been forever lost.

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fun/interesting/emotion-filled read. It has a similar effect as Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. I recommend reading it if you don't really like reading nonfiction. My favorite part was the letter to/response from Jerry Spinelli. My favorite line is when Spinelli says: “You are a neighborhood of one, your own personal zip code.” The reason I like this line so much is because it gives me a sense of importance/individualism that I can’t create on my own. The book wasn’t an easy read though, so be prepared.

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book by an amazing human being! I am biased because I know Dr. Kaywell personally, having been in several of her classes and bringing her ideas with me to the classroom every day for the past 22 years, but even so this is just a magnificent book. YA authors were asked which letters they received from kids had touched then the most, and this book collects those letters as well as the authors' letters back. Truly inspirational book - one that proves over and over that Books Save Lives.

[Kathy Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for Middle school and High school teachers. There are a number books/Authors that write back to students who have read their books and have more questions for them. An amazing resource for all those teachers that can help students understand tough situations that they may be facing but are afraid or to lonely to share.

[Lisa Hynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devastating letters from young people. Beautiful replies from authors, full of hope. I loved this book and I cried a lot reading it. A reminder of the power of books, the connection formed between reader and writer, the importance of letters and how sad it is that letter writing is dying.

[Lora · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this book so few stars just because I couldn't relate to it. I love the concept of the book, showcasing letters that teenagers have written to their favorite authors describing how the books they've read changed their lives, and I like how the authors replies were included.

So many of the letters were about horrible and traumatic incidents that the teenagers endured and then were helped by the author's books. I can see how teenagers would really like this book, but I just didn't have the issues that the letter writers did.

I did enjoy reading the responses from the authors. It's always interesting to read something from an author that isn't from one of their books, but from their own personalities and opinions.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a great resource. The first letter is addressed to Laurie Halse Anderson about her book, Speak, and how this book helped the reader find her own voice after a similar incident. This book is filled with powerful letters to authors whose stories have touched the lives of kids. What's really cool are the responses to those letters by the authors. What this book gives me as a teacher, another resource of books that might help my own students. I highly recommend this book for all teachers and librarians. :)

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a compilation of supposed letters to authors and the subsequent replies by the authors. The idea intrigued me as well as a chance to read casual letters by authors. I was disappointed and bored. The letters to the authors seemed contrived. Were these even legit letters? They all sounded too similar and too catered. I'm not categorically who this book was written for, but thought I'd find something of value in it. I didn't. Maybe a young teen would relate and not find it so tedious???

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got about 1/3 of the way through this book and decided to put it down. It was interesting enough for the part that I read, but I just got bored with it after a while. So my take is that it's a great idea, but in a more limited scope, and perhaps picking reader letters that are real standouts. A lot of these letters just seemed like run of the mill teenage musings. The other thing that bogged me down was the occasional author preachiness, which was somewhat off-putting. Again, a great idea if done exceptionally well, and that is not how I would characterize this effort.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows us the power that authors have to change people's lives. We read letters that were written to authors and the authors' responses. These encounters are enlightening and heartwarming. As a librarian, this book is a tool for me because it includes the best Young Adult authors in the U. S. If I use this book as a guide for my reading in the Young Adult genre, I will have exposed myself to some of the most important YA books of our time!

[Jessica Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a filled book of letters from the readers to the authors and the authors replies to the readers. It shows an in depth thought process to each of the authors while also inspiring and encouraging readers to keep reading. This book reminded me much of the book series I used to read "Chicken soup for the ___ soul" each book containing short stories that encouraged people to be better. I think this book is much like that. A very good read for young readers!

[Stacey Malamisura · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING! This book made me laugh, made me cry, made me smile, and everything in between. Hearing what kids have to say about books they have read and how the stories have impacted their lives is truly heartwarming and inspiring. I would recommend this book to children, to teens, to adults, to teachers, to parents, and to anyone who wants to know why writers do what they do.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for librarians, teachers and anyone who works with older kids or teens. It reminds us all of the tough problems some teens face and offers some book suggestions from kids/teens themselves. The teens wrote to authors of books that helped them with difficult life situations and to know that they aren't alone and aren't the only person who has this problem.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Letters from young readers to the writers who have moved them. . .and letters BACK from these writers themselves! Many YA favorites are included: Marion Dane Bauer, Laurie Halse Anderson, Ellen Wittlinger, Chris Crutcher, Joan Bauer, Chris Lynch. They write about hope and home. . . about writing and reading and the power of both. A great book for read alouds.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authors share letters received from students who read their books and have questions or something to share. This book touches on the REALLY difficult things young people grow through to become adults.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle School students write letters to an author that has had an effect in their life. The students often relate to the book because of circumstances in their own lifes. The author writes a letter back to the student.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

While most of the letters are inspiring to make your life the best, some of them were really boring. I love most of the letters though, with kid sharing their deepest stories and authors sharing their best advice.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a remarkable book featuring letters from fans to their favorite young adult authors and then the authors reply. The letters touch on every issue facing youth today and could sit comfortable on the shelf next to the It Gets Better book.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

YA authors respond to their young readers' letters.

[Rosemary Castillo · Rating 1 out of 5]

IT OKAY SO FR ITS NOT THAT BAD

[Jaclyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed seeing they type of letters teens send to Young Adult Writers. It was very motivating and now I have another list of YA books I want to read.

[Staff Favorites · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart wrenching and heart warming. --Trish

[Roxie · Rating 5 out of 5]

priceless, if you write YA a must read, if you read YA a fab intro of authors, if you have kids, read it to understand them: honor, hope, help all wrapped into one.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book I want to use in a display at school. So many authors that I have read and that have such good things to say to young people.

[Nahjaeeee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great story, it really lets people know that authors change lives.

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very boring. I would have preferred it with real stories, and it got very tedious as I went through. Meh.

[Susie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not meant for me. I picked it up in the writing section of the library and thought it sounded interesting - hearing advice from authors I love. It's targeted too young and not relevant to me.