Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
Hope in The Holler
Lisa Lewis Tyre · 2018
83/100
👍 Worth It
A Kirkus- and SLJ-starred middle-grade novel with a protagonist so determined and warm-hearted you root for her from the first page. The Appalachian setting is richly authentic, and the friendship at the center of the story is beautifully drawn. The antagonist's sustained cruelty is real enough to land emotionally, so parents of sensitive younger readers should preview, but for the core middle-grade audience this is a quietly exceptional book.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety78
substance85
craft86
originality80
accuracy88
hype72
age-fit82
human-eye85
Penny’s verdict83
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