Book Review: The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman

We've been dealing with some serious issues at home since early July. Unable to focus on much of anything, I needed a distraction. Thank goodness for an exceptional children's writer like Gennifer Choldenko. This read was not only timely but also touching and entertaining. I had read Choldenko before, her book Al Capone Does My Shirts. This one, The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman, was charming and stirring.

Hank Hooperman has a problem. His mother has not come home for a week and the landlord is banging on the door, threatening to evict them. But Hank Hooperman is resourceful. He finds a contact name on his field trip permission slip and travels with his 3-year-old sister Boo to find the woman listed there. While everyone loves a bright and sunny 3-year-old, not everyone is interested in taking on a pre-teen.

Both Hank and Boo are loveable and endearing, but Hank is carrying the world on his 11-year-old shoulders (not a fair position for a child). I could relate to much of his rumination. It is hard to love someone whose addiction makes them untrustworthy. The love doesn't go away, but the danger remains real and intense. Hank wants to be with his mother, but cannot trust her when the substances take over. While the subject is tough and may require some conversation, if read with the intended audience (ages 10-12), it is certainly one that is important in this day. I struggle as a parent with an addicted child; I cannot imagine carrying this weight as a child with an addicted parent.