Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland

Genre: Memoir
Length: 321 pages
Author: Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus

The Rundown
Can you picture being trapped in a house for over 15 years? Well unfortunately, that was what is was like for Amanda Berry, Gina Dejesus, and Michelle Knight. Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland, by Amanda Berry and Gina Dejesus, is a very moving and emotional story that takes you along their journey of being kidnapped by the same man and never leaving the same house for 16 years. This is a true story with pieces of advice embedded in it that has a strong meaning behind it. It tells what happened from the very beginning with how they got kidnapped, and how they conquered to live their life with the horrible man who took them (Ariel Castro). It gives you different perspectives of what really went down and the thoughts and feelings of the girls inside.
Overall Interpretation of the Book
My overall interpretation of Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland was that it ended up being a very good but hard (emotionally) book to read. The ending affected me as a reader because it was very interesting and exciting when I finally found out that all of the girls made it out of Ariel Castro’s horrible house alive. I couldn’t stop reading at the end because I wanted to know how they escaped. Even though the end was very intriguing, some parts in the book were kind of slow and dragged on a bit. I was the author would have added more detail or cut out those parts to keep the story moving along better. I took away from this reading experience a lot of subtle pieces of advice that the girls learned from this awful experience.
Writing Style Example and Analysis
“I close my eyes. “Please Lord, make this end. Please let me go home to my family. Please keep them safe a bring me home soon,” I say over and over. I turn to my photo of Mom, kiss it, and tell her goodnight. Tomorrow is May 1. A new month. This is how I’m going to think about time: Every day that passes means I’m a day closer to this being over, a day closer to being home. Hope is my only option.” (page 10).
This passage encapsulates the author’s writing style best because it shows her use of grammar to make her writing more effective and meaningful when reading it. She used a colon and an interrupter comma which shows that she is putting them in her writing not just because it looks good, but because it “hits home” the emotion Amanda is feeling at this particular part in the book.
The Recommendation
Overall, I think that Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland was a compelling story that told the hardships of three teenage girls who made the wrong decision of getting into a strangers car. It was an emotional book that made me sad and angry and some parts, and when they got free I wanted to cry tears of joy because I felt like I went on that journey with them. I would give it a 4 out of 5 star rating because it was a very good book that had lots of pieces of advice (not just for girls) but for life in general that a lot of people could use these days. This book is appropriate for young adults who can handle a very emotional (and sometimes very descriptive) story of the gruesome things Ariel Castro did to Amanda, Gina, and Michelle when they were taken. I think that most people would like this book because of the lessons learned in it, but some may not like it because of the detailed parts of exactly what he did to the girls.