When we meet Ipsa, the protagonist of Maggie Master’s middle-grade novel, The Hopeling, she’s feeling out of sorts. She’s not enjoying her work as an angel tasked with reading incoming prayers from humans—or hopelings, as they’re known in her world. All too often, the hopelings seem so n eedy and whiny, appealing for things like good grades on a spelling test or clear weather for a wedding day. “These creatures . . . uttered too many prayers,” explains Ipsa. “They flooded into the Reading Room from every corner of the hopeling world.” To make things worse, her supervisor is critical of her job performance and unsympathetic to her feelings.  Ipsa’s journey is only beginning, however. When she finds a particular prayer that hits unusually hard, leaving her feeling stunned, “as if she’d been struck by earthly lightning,” she’s shaken out of her boredom and complacency. She begins asking questions about how her world truly works. Why does she feel connected to the prayer’s sender, Isaac, a 14-year-old boy dealing with the aftermath of a school shooting? Have her superiors been straight with her, or are the workings of her world more complicated than she’s been led to believe?  Although published in 2025, The Hopeling calls to mind some of children’s literature’s classic titles from decades earlier—titles like Tuck Everlasting. The book takes as a given that younger readers can—and would want to—explore some of the trickiest and most profound issues of life itself. Kirkus Reviews called the book “somehow both classic and novel.” There’s levity and play in this fantasy too, however. For example, I loved learning that, if she needed to sit down, Ipsa could arrange her wings beneath her like a makeshift hammock.  Maggie Master, who grew up outside of Philadelphia, now lives in Baltimore with her family. Although she’s written for the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun, and other outlets, The Hopeling is her first published novel.  This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. BFB: From reading the acknowledgments, I got the sense that this story simmered in you for a while before it was published. Can you tell us how the novel came to be? MM: Indeed! I began this story in 2004 when I was in graduate school for journalism. At the time, I had the idea of an angelic take on C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters—essentially, what would it look like from an angel’s perspective to observe humans: would they be any less cynical than a junior devil of our behaviors? I worked on the book—and then put it away for years at a time, including after I had representation for it in 2016 and it went out on a few rounds without success. I wrote another manuscript, etc. But this book was always “the one” for me, and so I was prompted to go through the agenting process a second time, expand my ideal list of publishers, etc. In between 2016 and 2020, I changed the entire arc of Isaac’s hopeling backstory and prayer. The Parkland Massacre had happened (2018), and we were being inundated with “thoughts and prayers” from many lawmakers who simultaneously seemed to eschew the “words and actions” needed to actually make a difference and protect kids from guns. That’s when I knew I needed to make the hopeling plotline one that really told the story of these incredible Parkland students who were being the adults in the room, telling lawmakers how to actually answer their prayers: by doing their jobs.  BFB: Though the book has elements of realism, it’s set in a milieu with rules unlike our own. Did you find the world building challenging?  MM: So challenging! As a debut author, writing a fantasy is a tall order for that reason. I was very lucky to have an early interaction with an incredible agent who pushed me to really flesh out some of the world in ways that I had, frankly, probably avoided because it required so much discipline and deep consideration. I also just read a ton of really great fantasy.  BFB: What are some of the biggest influences on your writing generally and on this book in particular?  MM: Hands down for this book it was The Giver by Lois Lowry. I am a former 8th grade English teacher, and I read The Giver with my students. It felt to me the perfect mix of plot and philosophy. I saw my students wrestling with BIG ideas about the world, challenging assumptions they’d had about things like pain. Coming to their own realizations that maybe some of the hardest things about life were necessary. This was back in 2001, and I knew that was the kind of book I wanted to write. I reread The Giver at least once a year in the intervening 20 years while writing this book and percolating. I really mirrored the relationship between Ipsa and Dhavi [an older, wiser member of Ipsa’s world] after Jonas and the Giver. Last April, I had the opportunity to hear Lois Lowry speak at the Baltimore County Public Library, and I brought my daughters. Snug Books had The Hopeling out for sale next to The Giver, and it was probably the best moment of my professional writing life! BFB: You dedicate the book to your daughters. Were they very involved with the evolution of the novel? MM: My oldest daughter, who is now 13, is a beta reader. But I think that, in terms of the evolution of this novel, they were most involved in a more esoteric way: I’m a “recovering Catholic,” and my husband and I have made a decision to raise them outside of that church. No small part of that is that I think it is so important that they understand that, whoever, whatever “God” is, they, we are her hands on earth. Nothing happens because of someone waving a magic wand in the clouds. It happens through the hard work of humans looking out for strangers and loved ones, alike. And that’s what I wanted my kids to know. But also: After my then-12-year-old read the book, she had an interesting reflection. She wondered if the age (middle grade) was right; she thought perhaps it should be for an older audience. When I asked her why, she said: “It’s just that the book deals with really hard stuff. Real stuff.” She’s right about that, but as I said in the foreword, it’s real and it’s happening, so I think kids deserve the chance to make meaning of it. BFB: Are you someone who writes from home, or do you have places in Baltimore where you like to go to write? MM: I am definitely a cafe junkie when I can afford it. Although much of this was written in the 5 AM hours in my living room before then-small kids were awake. I do a lot of editing at R House. I feel less guilty taking up a seat in a massive space if I’m going to be hunkered down with a laptop for three hours ;). BFB: What’s next for you as a writer? MM: I’m trying to lean back into personal essays right now, which is such great therapy. I’ve also been working on a dystopian short story that I’m pretty excited about. After I shelved The Hopeling for a few years, my agent suggested that I start a new project. I wrote another young adult book—this one, not fantasy! It’s about a young white girl in Baltimore grappling with white privilege and racism, one year after the death of Freddie Gray. I wish it wasn’t quite so applicable right now, but sadly, it still resonates. So I’m working to get that out the door. ————————————— Maggie Master’s The Hopeling can be purchased via The Ivy Bookshop, Snug Books, Greedy Reads, and other local independent bookshops. You can learn more about The Hopeling and Maggie’s other published work at her website. ...read more read less