"Una tarta de manzana llena de esperanza" es un libro muy sencillo de leer. Quizá es un poco muy juvenil para mi gusto, pero para gustos colores. Se siente acelerada en muchas ocasiones —el final está escrito a la carrera, no pudo cargar con todo el clímax que estuvo construyendo—, pudo haberse extendido mucho más. Así como hay cosas que pudieron haberse cortado perfectamente —esa mini-historia entre la madre de Paloma y el padre de Oscar no llegó a ningún lado—. En resumen, es una historia simple con un lenguaje sencillo que te ayuda a mantener un buen ritmo en la lectura (puedes acabar el libro en una noche). Aunque dudo que su narrativa pueda trascender más allá de una historia olvidable, quizá sea capaz de tocarte.

2/5 ( )

This is the sweet story of best friends Oscar and Meg who grew up together as best friends living next door. It is how Meg left the area for a while, and how things changed for both of them, resulting in Oscar allegedly killing himself. However, things are not always what they seem, and having hope is something we should never give up on, no matter how dire the situation seems. ( )

Quite a sweet little tale about Oscar, Meg and Paloma and the damage that can be caused by a narcissistic and malicious individual who creates trouble just for the sake of it. I found the writing rather old-fashioned and sentimental and didn't really feel that I had a lot of insight into the characters. I found myself skipping - never a good sign. A bit meh. ( )

A novel with a little magic, The Apple Tart of Hope is exactly that--a story of hope.

Oscar Dunleavy has a magical ability: he knows when someone is hopeless, and he makes an apple tart returns hope. He, however, is presumed dead after disappearing; his bike and shoes have been recovered from the ocean, but his body has not been found yet. Meg, his best friend, has been in Australia with her parents on a research trip that is to last for six months. As soon as her family learns of Oscar’s presumed death, they immediately return to Ireland. Meg is so confused. How could Oscar consider suicide. He wouldn’t because he’s loved by everyone. Only Stevie, Oscar’s brother, believes that Oscar is still alive and asks Meg to help him.

Meg finds a different school and hometown. Everyone thinks Oscar was weird and had problems, which no one thought when she left. During the memorial service, his best friend is announced as someone who plans on speaking. Meg wonders why no one told her and prepares herself to speak when another girl gets up. It’s the girl who rented Meg’s house with her mother and has been talking to Oscar through their windows as Meg and Oscar have done their entire lives. Chapters alternate between the two characters, Meg and Oscar as there are flashbacks showing how both Meg and Oscar became separated over the last few months and to detail what has happened in each other’s lives.

I loved this novel. Like The Key to Extraordinary, it is a sweet and positive novel. If you like Wonder, We Are All Made of Molecules, Snicker of Magic, and novels such as these, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this novel as well. ( )

Great story about bullying and how someone can ruin ones life. ( )