Hope is a Ferris Wheel by Robin Herrera

Star and her family move from Oregon to California after her high school sister is kicked out of school. Star discovers it's hard to find friends in the new town once they learn she lives a trailer park. She decides to start a trailer park club, but it changes into a poetry club when it only has three members. In addition to herself, the new club is made up of a quiet girl from class, her brother who seems to hate Star, a boy feared by most kids in the school, and his buddy. The kids in the group become Star's only friends. Her older sister says she wants to drive back to Oregon and find their father, a man they haven't seen in years. However, Star discovers something that may rock her whole world. Why did her mother keep the truth from her?

The characters in the group frequently reflect on their lives, and readers will too. What is hope? Are hopes and dreams the same. Star's boycotting of the weekly vocabulary sentences is amusing but also reveals a lot about her character. The plot involves the issues of trying to fit in, understanding yourself, and having hope. Hope is like a ferris wheel; it's up to Star and us to decide what it means.