The Apple Tart of Hope Paperback – January 30, 2017

A amazing story filled with hope and love. I could not put it down and you should definitely read it

Wonderful story. Well written and enjoyable for my middle schooler.

Required book for college class. This was not as slow to get into as Back to Blackbrick. Really enjoyed this book and loved the back and forth persectives between the main two characters.

Good

Our 6,7,8 year olds loved this book. Great story. I recommend it highly

From Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, the author of BLACK TO BLACKBRICK, comes THE APPLE TART OF HOPE, an endearing story of first love and friendship.Fourteen-year-old baker Oscar Dunleavy and unadventurous Meg are best friends and next-door neighbors. They communicate through knocking on each other’s windows and sneaking out to meet at the fence that divides their yard. When Meg’s family plans a vacation to New Zealand, Oscar is the one who convinces her to try out a new adventure and go.Things take a turn for the worse when the beautiful Paloma Killealy and her family rent Meg’s house while they are in New Zealand. Without his best friend by his side, terrible rumors start to spread around school about Oscar. After receiving a letter from Meg that he wasn’t really supposed to read, a strain is put on his and Meg’s friendship.After coming home from the beach with her friends, Meg hears the awful news that Oscar Dunleavy’s misshapen bike and soggy shoes were found at the sea outside the pier. The boy who baked apple tarts to give people hope is missing and presumed dead. Motivated by Oscar’s little brother, who refuses to believe that Oscar is really dead, Meg is determined to figure out what happened in the six months she was gone and what awful thing pressured her friend into suicide.THE APPLE TART OF HOPE is a quick little read that I really enjoyed. Although I couldn’t relate to any of the characters, I empathized with Meg. Firstly, she has to move away from her best friend and take a trip she doesn’t want to go on. Then he starts to become best friends with a girl who moves into her house, so it seems as if he is trying to replace her. Lastly, she feels that her best friend’s “death” is her fault because she stopped emailing and updating him on New Zealand life. If Meg were real I’d want to be her friend; she just seems like a nice, genuine person.One thing I found odd about this book was how the characters spoke. The adults I understand, but Oscar, Meg, Paloma and their classmates spoke in a manner I found too prim and proper. I don’t know if that’s just the author’s writing style or if that’s actually how teens talk in Ireland, but I’m not letting that get in the way of my opinion of this novel. The author does, however, have a unique writing style that varies from telling the story in the present to telling it in the past. Not all authors can make this work without confusing the reader, but Sarah Moore Fitzgerald successfully keeps both timelines separate and clear.Although this book ended with a few loose ends, I really enjoyed the reunion between Meg and Oscar. THE APPLE TART OF HOPE would be a great summer read for anyone. It’s a nice, light read that can be carried anywhere. It also helps that the cover is to die for.Reviewed by Asia H.

The middle-grade years are a braid of contrasts: growing independence and adventure combined with the complications of friendships, family troubles, and a growing shadowy awareness of “out there.”A character in middle-grade novel THE APPLE TART OF HOPE by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald (Holiday House) expresses this contrast beautifully:"There's this one moment as you're growing up when the world suddenly feels more or less pointless--when the terrible reality lands on you, like something falling from the sky...And when that happens, there's no going back to the time when it hadn't landed on you."Set in Ireland, THE APPLE TART OF HOPE is told in alternating voices of main characters and best friends Oscar and Meg (both age 14); it is a story of a missing boy and so much more. But don’t let me mislead you into thinking this is a dark, dreary story; it is leavened with humor, magic, and tenderness. Oscar, who loves making the world’s most perfect apple tarts for anyone in crisis, goes missing—and is presumed dead. Meg refuses to believe it, and she teams up with Oscar’s brother to get to the truth. In reality, Oscar has gone into hiding. He’s bereft and hopeless due to a toxic mix of bullying, family trouble and feeling forsaken by Meg. A perceptive fellow, Oscar articulates these contradictions in this passage:“As the days passed, I learned that there’s not much difference between pretending to be dead and really being dead. As far as I can see, both seem to amount to the same thing.I learned that if someone you know disappears you shouldn’t automatically jump to conclusions. You should ask questions, and look, and search until you know for sure…Keep hope in your heart.”Elements of dark and the light are perfectly balanced in THE APPLE TART OF HOPE, which makes is a potent yet perfect choice for middle-grade readers. As I read it, I heard echoes of Maurice Sendak and his 1964 Caldecott speech (meaningful for middle grade writers!):“…from their earliest years children live on familiar terms with disrupting emotions, that fear and anxiety are an intrinsic part of their everyday lives, that they can continually cope with frustration as best they can. And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is the best means they have for taming Wild Things.”Despite his fears and shadows, Oscar is a kind-hearted sensitive soul whose apple tarts have an almost magical effect on others, an effect in which he has ultimate faith:“It’s not an ordinary apple tart. It’s magic. It’s the apple tart of hope. After you’ve taken a bite, the whole world will look almost completely different. Things will start to change and by the time you’ve had a whole slice you’ll realize that everything is going to be o.k.”There are so many things I love about this novel. Its depiction of contemporary Ireland, small town life, and its engaging dialog is balm to the soul of anyone who is weary of a recent media overloads of green beer and leprechauns. Fitzgerald expertly balances dark and light—feelings of hopelessness are not skimmed over, but hope and the importance of friendships prevails. The skillfulness of the dual points of view highlights the missed signals and misunderstood motivations that are characteristic of so many middle grade friendships. And Fitzgerald’s language, her way with words? Beautiful, lyrical, fresh—but in a manner that serves and does not distract from the rich story.In an interview in the Irish Times, Fitzgerald stated, “Most of all though, The Apple Tart of Hope is a love story and in it, I’ve tried to show how love can weather all manner of storms and struggles, and how kindness can make us strong and resilient in this unpredictable world.”Reading this novel left me feeling as secure and grounded as when I am sitting in the kitchen of my family in County Cork, Ireland, polishing off a slice of apple tart (a less-overstuffed version of American apple pie, with components of crust and filling in perfect balance). It fed me, it satisfied my soul, and it left me with more than a crumb of hope.

I liked everything about this book. The sadness, the persevering hope, the joy, everything. I also liked the way it showed me every perspective and how everything made sense in the end. This book has touched my heart in an way. I couldn’t put it down. I recommend this book for everyone and especially younger people.

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