The Great Gilly Hopkins is a children's novel by Katherine Paterson. It is a work of realistic fiction and was published in 1978. The novel won the US National Book Award in 1979 and was named a Newberry Honor Book. The edition used in this guide is the Harper Trophy edition published by Harper Collins in 1978.

Plot Summary

This book is set in Thompson Park, Maryland in the 1970s. The protagonist is Gilly Hopkins, an 11-year-old girl. Since she was three years old, Gilly has been shuttled from one foster home to another after her biological mother Courtney placed her in foster care. As a result of this instability, Gilly has built up a strong shield against everyone she meets. She is proud that no one dares to “tangle” with “the great Galadriel Hopkins” (4).

Her social worker, Miss Ellis, is tired of Gilly’s antics, and she places her with Maime Trotter, an oddball, religious widower and William Ernest, an extremely shy and frail younger boy whom Maime Trotter coddles. Gilly is not impressed with her new family but is surprised when she meets Mr. Randolph, an elderly Black man with visual impairments, who lives next door.

At school, a red-haired girl named Agnes Stokes follows Gilly around even though Gilly shows no signs of wanting to befriend her. Gilly’s frustrations are compounded when she meets her new 6th grade teacher Miss Harris.

Courtney sends her a letter which gives Gilly hope that she will return and save her from her new life. The letter also includes a return address in San Francisco, California. Gilly fervently believes that if she can just get to Courtney, she will finally feel like she belongs.

Gilly discovers ten dollars hidden in Mr. Randolph’s bookshelf. She schemes to search for more money so she can purchase a bus ticket to California. She becomes increasingly certain that she must leave Thompson Park when she realizes that she is beginning to care about Maime Trotter, William Ernest, Mr. Randolph, and even Miss Harris.

Frustrated that Mr. Randolph’s hidden money does not add up to the cost of a ticket, Gilly writes a letter to her biological mother asking for the rest of the money, claiming that her new family is dysfunctional. Worried that the stolen money will be noticed when Mr. Randolph’s son comes to visit his father, Gilly becomes desperate to leave Thompson Park and steals the rest of the money for the bus ticket from Maime Trotter.

Gilly is stopped by a suspicious ticket clerk at the bus station, who calls the police. Maime Trotter and William Ernest beg Gilly to come back, and she returns to them. Maime Trotter and Mr. Randolph forgive Gilly for stealing the money. When Maime Trotter, William Ernest, and Mr. Randolph all become sick during Thanksgiving, Gilly takes care of everyone, rushing around the house with soup, medicine, and wash cloths.

Gilly is stunned when her grandmother shows up at Maime Trotter’s home on Thanksgiving Day. Gilly has never met her before, and during their awkward conversation, Gilly realizes that her grandmother never knew she existed. Her grandmother sees a messy house full of sick people and a run-down Gilly and gets a very bad impression of Gilly’s current home. Gilly’s grandmother speaks to Miss Ellis about Gilly living with her in Virginia. Gilly is devastated, but there is nothing that Maime Trotter or Miss Ellis can do. Gilly realizes that she loves Maime Trotter. She finally found a place to call home, and she does not look forward to living with her grandmother.

However, Gilly begins to slowly warm up to her grandmother and appreciate her. For Christmas, her grandmother arranges for Gilly to meet Courtney. When Courtney arrives at the airport, Gilly’s excitement quickly dissipates. Courtney is bedraggled, rude to her mother, and shows little interest in raising Gilly. Gilly calls Maime Trotter to ask if she can come back to her, and Maime Trotter comforts Gilly, telling her that she loves her, but also saying that she can’t leave her grandmother all alone. Gilly tells Maime Trotter she loves her for the first time.