Have You Seen Luis Velez?


Book Description

An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestseller. New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde brings heartwarming authenticity to the story of two strangers who find that kindness is a powerful antidote to fear. Raymond Jaffe feels like he doesn't belong. Not with his mother's new family. Not as a weekend guest with his father and his father's wife. Not at school, where he's an outcast. After his best friend moves away, Raymond has only two real connections: to the feral cat he's tamed and to a blind ninety-two-year-old woman in his building who's introduced herself with a curious question: Have you seen Luis Velez? Mildred Gutermann, a German Jew who narrowly escaped the Holocaust, has been alone since her caretaker disappeared. She turns to Raymond for help, and as he tries to track Luis down, a deep and unexpected friendship blossoms between the two. Despondent at the loss of Luis, Mildred isolates herself further from a neighborhood devolving into bigotry and fear. Determined not to let her give up, Raymond helps her see that for every terrible act the world delivers, there is a mirror image of deep kindness, and Mildred helps Raymond see that there's hope if you have someone to hold on to.




Pay It Forward


Book Description

"When twelve-year-old Trevor accepts his social studies teacher's assignment to come up with a plan to change the world ... Do a good deed for three people and ask them to "pay it forward" to three others who need help." ... Cover p. [4].




The Convention


Book Description

The time is 1994, and the place is the national convention of the Federal Baptist Church in Chicago. Campbell pits the fundamentalist faction versus the moderates with all the malfeasance and intrigue that a wedding of church and state suggests.




The Day I Killed James


Book Description

Seventeen-year-old Theresa tries to get past the guilt she feels over the death of a neighbor who loved her, first through a journal her therapist tells her to keep, then by transforming herself and starting a new life.




Brave Girl, Quiet Girl


Book Description

Brooke is a divorced single mom, financially strapped, living with her mother, and holding tight to the one thing that matters most: her two-year-old daughter, Etta. Then, in a matter of seconds, Brooke's life is shattered when she's carjacked. Helpless and terrified, all Brooke can do is watch as Etta, still strapped in her seat, disappears into the Los Angeles night.




Raft of Stars


Book Description

“A rousing adventure yarn full of danger and heart and humor.” —Richard Russo An instant classic for fans of Jane Smiley and Kitchens of the Great Midwest: when two hardscrabble young boys think they’ve committed a crime, they flee into the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Will the adults trying to find and protect them reach them before it’s too late? It’s the summer of 1994 in Claypot, Wisconsin, and the lives of ten-year-old Fischer “Fish” Branson and Dale “Bread” Breadwin are shaped by the two fathers they don’t talk about. One night, tired of seeing his best friend bruised and terrorized by his no-good dad, Fish takes action. A gunshot rings out and the two boys flee the scene, believing themselves murderers. They head for the woods, where they find their way onto a raft, but the natural terrors of Ironsforge gorge threaten to overwhelm them. Four adults track them into the forest, each one on a journey of his or her own. Fish’s mother Miranda, a wise woman full of fierce faith; his granddad, Teddy, who knows the woods like the back of his hand; Tiffany, a purple-haired gas station attendant and poet looking for connection; and Sheriff Cal, who’s having doubts about a life in law enforcement. The adults track the boys toward the novel’s heart-pounding climax on the edge of the gorge and a conclusion that beautifully makes manifest the grace these characters find in the wilderness and one another. This timeless story of loss, hope, and adventure runs like the river itself amid the vividly rendered landscape of the Upper Midwest.




Take Me with You


Book Description

August Shroeder, a burned-out teacher, has been sober since his 19-year-old son died. Every year he's spent the summer on the road, but making it to Yellowstone this year means everything. The plan had been to travel there with his son, but now August is making the trip with Philip's ashes instead. An unexpected twist of fate lands August with two extra passengers for his journey, two half-orphans with nowhere else to go. What none of them could have known was how transformative both the trip and the bonds that develop between them would prove, driving each to create a new destiny together.




Seven Perfect Things


Book Description

"Abby Hubble lives in an unhappy home in the Sierra Nevada foothills where her father makes life miserable for her and her mother ... One day Abby witnesses a man dump a litter of puppies into the nearby river. Diving in to rescue all seven ... she takes them to an abandoned cabin ... Grieving widower Elliot Colvin, ... looking for solace, retreats to the hunting cabin ... What he discovers is not at all what he expected: seven puppies and one determined girl with an indomitable heart. As Abby and Elliot's friendship deepens, Abby imagines how much better her life and the puppies' lives would be if her mother were married to Elliot instead of her father"--




Electric God


Book Description

"Hayden refuses to give up, however, and after years of struggling, he experiences a moment of insight that enables him to understand why he has been tested so harshly by a seemingly unfeeling deity."--BOOK JACKET.




When I Found You


Book Description

A story of love, growth, fight and hope from Richard & Judy bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Mitch Albom and Alice Sebold, this is a moving novel that packs a hefty punch. 'A heroic, superbly crafted novel worth reading again and again and again' -- The Denver Post 'Ryan Hyde spins her tale so effortlessly that the reader closes the book with a quiet sense of elation' -- San Francisco Chronicle 'Very moving, and long after I finished it I couldn't stop thinking about it' -- ***** Reader review 'Lovely story and wonderful characters. Can't get enough of this author' -- ***** Reader review 'This lady is amazing. The stories she tells, weaving your emotions into the plot. I've yet to find a book of hers that, once started, I could bear to put down' -- ***** Reader review 'One word....fantastic' -- ***** Reader review *********************************************************************** THE MAGICAL STORY OF A YOUNG BOY'S SEARCH FOR BELONGING... When Nathan McCann discovers a newborn baby boy half buried in the woods, he assumes he's found a tiny dead body. But then the baby moves and in one remarkable moment, Nathan's life is changed forever. The baby is sent to grow up with his grandmother, but Nathan can't forget him and is compelled to pay her a visit. He asks for one simple promise - that one day she will introduce the boy to Nathan and tell him, 'This is the man who found you in the woods.' Years pass and Nathan assumes that the old lady has not kept her promise, until one day an angry, troubled boy arrives on his doorstep with a suitcase . . .