Hope in the Valley [Paperback]

Hope in the Valley, from National Book Award Nominee Mitali Perkins, is amiddle-grade novelexploring grief, friendship, family, and growing up in a community facing a housing crisis.

Twelve-year-old Indian-American Pandita Paul doesn't like change. She's not ready to start middle school and leave the comforts of childhood behind. Most of all, Pandita doesn't want to feel like she's leaving her mother, who died a few years ago, behind. After a falling out with her best friend, Pandita is planning to spend most of her summer break reading and writing in her favorite secret space: the abandoned but majestic mansion across the street.

But then the unthinkable happens. The town announces that the old home will be bulldozed in favor of newmaybe affordablehousing. With her family on opposing sides of the issue, Pandita must find her voiceand the strength to move onin order to give her community hope.

Mitali Perkinshas written several books for young readers, includingHome Is in Between,Between Us and Abuela,Forward Me Back to You,You Bring the Distant Near(a National Book Award Nominee, a Walter Honor Book, a South Asia Book Award Winner, aPublishers WeeklyBest Book of the Year, and aShelf Awareness2017 Best Book of the Year),Rickshaw Girl(a NYPL Top 100 Book), andBamboo People(an ALA Top 10 YA novel). Mitali was born in India and currently resides in Northern California.

AKirkusBest of the Year
A BookPage Best Book of the Year
A California Young Reader's Medal Finalist

Grief, memories, and the difficulty of letting go permeate this powerful story about family, friendship, and finding your voice . . . deeply compelling . . . A riveting, courage-filled story. Kirkus Reviews,starred review

Though the novel is set in the 1980s, issues surrounding housing inequity and financial precarity delCŽ