Reviews

Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland by Gina DeJesus, Kevin Sullivan, Mary Jordan, Amanda Berry

nuclearranter's review against another edition

It doesn't feel right to give this book a star rating. This was their story and and only they know how to tell it. That said, I found the book to be raw, powerful, emotional, and informative. It's not an easy read, but one I would definitely recommend.

samgann's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad

4.5

rachael_reading's review against another edition

5.0

An incredible story of survival and hope, as the title says. These girls endured so much and the memoir describes it well. It is not too hard to read, although many disturbing things did happen to them. I applaud them for turning there story into a book. It reminds you to count your blessings and to always endure one day at a time.

plainjanethebookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Torture, Mental illness, Abortion, Child abuse, Confinement, Rape, Sexual violence, Grief, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

moonysreadingcorner's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

I cried to many times like I had to pause what I was doing multiple times to cry

margaretmechinus's review against another edition

5.0

Hope is the perfect name for this book. Their story is an unimaginable horror, but the story of the hope they were able to hold on to is the real story here. Well written and uplifting.

books4biana's review against another edition

3.0

Okay...spoiler alert: they get rescued. And not because of any work on the part of the investigators, but because Amanda Berry got very very brave and opened a door that hadn't been opened in over a decade.

I remember this tale as it played out in the media. I felt this great sense of shock and frustration that ANOTHER tale of abduction happened. I had just finished reading Elizabeth Smart's tale and she was gone for 18 months...but these gals was like 11 years!

I started reading one of the other books about this same event and found it significantly less interesting. This one actually felt real. It was a horrific event, but the book wasn't filled with the train wreck of trauma. I don't need to read the play by play but I don't want to dismiss her suffering either. I believe this took a nice middle ground.

The reason it didn't get 5 stars? It was written by novices who didn't graduate high school (or junior high in one case). That's not a reflection on them, because it was good and sincere. It just wasn't blockbuster material.

itscaitlinkane's review against another edition

4.0

Enthralling. Heartbreaking. Inspiring. Enraging. This book was difficult to get through. I started it and then had to put it down and didn’t pick it up for another month. The second time I picked it up, though I read for hours until I finished it. It got to the point where I would not put it down until the women escaped. I couldn’t sleep until I could read their reunions. They endured so much. The book is fairly well written and contains first-hand diary entries from Amanda over the years which brings it all to life more, that either makes it worse or better, I don’t know. A book I think more people should read but not a book I would recommend to people unless they expressed a specific interest in the case.

lbrady2396's review against another edition

5.0

This is a tough read, but you can see the hope that Amanda and Gina displayed. They were very open about their journeys and their struggles.

restlessbookish's review against another edition

dark informative slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Racial slurs