"Grounds for Hope" By Neil Plakcy: Review/Giveaway

Review by Kiana Wall

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an ebook copy of the book and a link to purchase it. 

Neil Plakcy brings readers two more novellas in Grounds for Hope, focusing on two main characters whose stories seem separate but are interwoven. In the first novella, we are introduced to a young man named Miguel Ruiz, hiding from ICE and his painful past. He finds a refuge in Betty, the owner of Smiling Dog Café, where dogs mysteriously appear to guide hurting people towards healing.

With the help of the community that Betty has created with her coffee and kind words, Miguel explores his past. He discovers parts of himself that lead him towards a future he never could have imagined––but all of it comes to a halt when ICE finds him and summons him for a trial. However, with all the friends and chosen family Miguel has made along the way, he finds a path through his traumatic past and into a new future––one that revolves around his new-found confidence and sense of home.

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In the second novella, we meet Tanya Morris, who has spent her time changing herself to fit in. Ever since her mother left, she feels like she isn’t good enough––at least she wasn’t good enough to stay for. She is surrounded by people who are confident in who they are, and what they are going to become, leaving her feeling lonely and lost. She is led by a three-legged Akita to Smiling Dog Café, where the power of coffee and hope given by both Betty and her community push her to find her voice. Tanya finds that she is more than enough to the people around her, and she embraces her identity as a young woman with much potential to offer to the world.

I am so honored to have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing another of Neil Plakcy’s books. He writes with such insight into every situation, as demonstrated in all of his books. In these two novellas specifically, he writes with depth and grace about the fear of illegal immigrants, the tricky role of the government in the lives of refugees, and the peace Miguel finds in the carefully phrased help offered by Betty’s customers. He also writes with surprising perception into the vulnerabilities and hardships in the lives of young women, which Tanya experiences throughout her story. I appreciate his sensitivity to certain topics and his careful guidance around grief and the people feeling it.

Smiling Dog Café has a place for everyone, whether you are healing, hurting, or here for the coffee and dogs. Neil Plakcy has done it again––the stories he writes are one big step towards the healing of the hurts of this world.

To enter to win an ebook copy of Grounds for Hope, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "grounds for hope,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 11, 2025. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter.  If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode goes up next week.

You can click here to purchase this book.

Kiana Wall lives in Reedley, CA and is 17. She enjoys reading, writing, and a number of different crafts in her spare time. She also loves anything to do with horses.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.