Hope in Patience

Hope in Patience
Fehlbaum, Beth, 2010.
Hope in Patience.
Lodi: WestSide Books.
312 pages, hardcover.
$16.95

ISBN 9781934813416.

Format: book
Rating: 5.0/5.0 stars

Plot Summary
Ashley Asher is only fifteen years old, yet she has lived a lifetime of experiences through the sexual abuse of her stepfather, and the emotional distancing of her mother. When Ashley is removed from her mother’s home and placed with the father she barely knew, she begins a new life in the small town of Patience, Texas.

Ashley is in therapy, adjusting to a new high school, and adjusting to a very different kind of family and place called home. No more an abuse victim, she continues to have nightmares and relives many of her experiences. Struggling through, with the support of her dad, her stepmom and younger brother. Ashley is starting to make new friends, and finding her place in her new world, but the grip of her past holds tight, and sometimes she hates and hurts herself to stop her inner pain.

Having to face her mother and stepfather in court is traumatic for Ashley, still desperate for recognition and love from her mother, she comes to realize too late that she needs to focus on her own healing. First step, let go of what she can’t change – her mother.

Critical Evaluation
Fehlbaum writes with such a raw honesty that readers can’t help but be drawn in by Ashley’s story, share her hurt with the brutality of the flashback scenes, and cheer for every little step forward she takes to move beyond the abuse and begin her new life.

Fehlbaum’s use of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a diagnosis allows Ashley to understand some of what she is going through, from the way she inflicts pain on herself, to how she rejects the help of those around her and makes it very believable to the readers.

The Halloween date scene is terrifyingly realistic and offers readers a rare view into the mindset of someone experiencing a new trauma while trying to overcome the original trauma, and how easily different scenarios can trigger an episode – showing that recovery is a very long-term road.

The strength of Bev’s character, and her developing closeness for and advocating for Ashley is evident throughout the book, starting with the summer school class which Ashley is part of. To see Fehlbaum draw upon her experiences as a compassionate teacher and fiercely protective mother, and instilling those traits in Bev gives Ashley an ally and a stronger mother role model than she’s ever had before. It gives Ashley the strength and courage to move forward – and the ability to start trusting again. Every reader will see that Hope in Patience is a story of Ashley’s recovery.

Reader’s Annotation
Sexually abused for years, Ashley Asher lives a life of fear until the day she tells the someone who acted, getting Child Protective Services to remove her from the home of her mother and abusive step-father. Uprooting her life, Ashley is sent to live with her real father and his new family, and discovers what it means to give and receive love, through the strength of family and the power of healing.

Information About the Author
Beth Fehlbaum was born and grew up in Dallas. She married her high school sweetheart and together they raised their three daughters: Mandy, Alissa, and Kristen. With her girls in school, Beth went back to school to become a teacher, graduating with a BA in English and then earning an M. Ed. in Elementary Education.

Beth Fehlbaum began writing the Patience novel trilogy at the suggestion of her therapist as a means to work through her grief and anger at being a sexual abuse victim herself in order to begin the healing process. Courage in Patience was published in 2008, Hope in Patience in 2010, and Truth in Patience is still awaiting publication.

(Fehlbaum, 2011).

Genre

Fiction: Issues – abuse

Read-Alikes
Rooftop by Paul Volponi
Undone by Brooke Taylor

Curriculum Ties
For a Health curriculum, Hope in Patience supports a study on communication, influences on one’s health and well-being, risk reduction in relationships, in addition to a close-up view on human behaviors and what people do to themselves and others in order to recover from trauma and move forward.

Booktalking Ideas
1) opening scene with Ashley having a realistic flashback of her abuse
2) riding home with her dad and Bev, the exchanges to show how much support Ashley has (even though she doesn’t feel its full impact yet)

Book Trailer Links
Book Trailer by Author

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 14 and up / YA

Challenge Issues
sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, abandonment, self-injury, post-traumatic stress disorder

First, I would share some of the recommendations used as part of the selection process, including reviews from resources as noted below. Next, I would point out the value in allowing these types of materials to be optional reading as teens grow ever closer to adulthood and making their own decisions. Finally, following our school district’s policy #KEC, after explaining that our school district’s philosophy is that no parent or group of parents has the right to determine the reading matter for children other than their own, I would refer the parent or community member to the building principal, so that he/she can file a written complaint to begin the process of review.

Awards
Michael L Printz Award, 2006
ALA Teen's Top Ten, 2005

Why Title Included & Selection Tools
This heartfelt YA novel is critical to a collection that serves teens who have had similar experiences, and sadly this kind of abuse knows no social or economic boundaries – it happens everywhere. It is as much a book of recovery and as such can provide support to any teen needing that extra connection to see that he or she is not alone.

School Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly