Life, Loss, and Puffinsby Catherine Ryan Hyde
Friendship Fiction, 272 pages
Published May 14, 2024 by Lake Union Publishing
An exhilarating and emotional novel about grief, hope, friendship, and taking life one beautiful and spontaneous day at a time by New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.
Freakishly smart. That’s the unwelcome box Ru Evans is put into for life. After all, she taught herself Euclidean geometry at age seven, has an eidetic memory, and is about to enter college at thirteen years old.
Boarding at a house near campus 150 miles from home, Ru meets seventeen-year-old Gabriel, an outsider himself who, like Ru, has trouble making friends—until they form a fast sibling-like bond. Finding a relatable someone in the world to talk to is a first for both of them.
But when Ru’s mother dies and the threat of living with her miserable aunt looms, Ru hatches an escape. It’s an impulsive road trip that takes Ru and Gabriel from California to Canada, where Ru can fulfill her ultimate to see Atlantic puffins in the glorious wild.
Mile by mile, Ru discovers the joy of friendship, found family, dark night skies, and the aurora borealis, and she basks in going from being a smart person to just a person. Though she knows they’ll be in trouble when they’re caught, for the short time they are navigating twist by twist of an unknown road, the freedom is liberating, and she is living for what feels like the first time.
My thoughts aboutLife, Loss, and Puffins~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)
First lines—"Sit down girls. Just sit on the couch here. And please don't roll your eyes."
I started on another wonderful adventure when I opened the pages of this book. All of Catherine Ryan Hyde's books are like that. They take me to a place I didn't even know I wanted to go and I get introduced to amazing characters that I long to be friends with. So much wisdom and advice are freely given within the pages, to anyone who is open to receiving it.
Catherine Ryan Hyde is one of those author that I automatically read. I don't even need to know what the story is about, I just know that I've got to read it. I know it's going to be that good!
Ru and Gabriel are a couple of misfits who miraculously find each other and set out on a grand journey. Each of them are there to save the other. As they check off items on their bucket lists, they are lucky enough to meet a bunch of people who look out for them and become the families they don't have. I loved being a part of all of their experiences and loved the relationship that grew between these two main characters.
I highly recommend Life, Loss, and Puffins. I loved it and I think you will to. If you haven't read any of CRH's books yet, you really need to add her books to you TBR list. They are all wonderful!
I received Life, Loss, and Puffins via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion of the book.
About the author
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of 44 published and forthcoming books.
Her newer releases are Dreaming of Flight, Boy Underground, Seven Perfect Things, My Name is Anton, Brave Girl, Quiet Girl, Stay, Have You Seen Luis Velez?, Just After Midnight, Heaven Adjacent, The Wake Up, Allie and Bea, Say Goodbye for Now, Leaving Blythe River, Ask Him Why, Worthy, The Language of Hoofbeats, Take Me With You, Walk Me Home, and When I Found You.
Forthcoming are So Long, Chester Wheeler, and Just a Regular Boy.
Other novels include When You Were Older, Where We Belong, Don’t Let Me Go, Second Hand Heart, Jumpstart the World, Becoming Chloe, Love in the Present Tense, The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance, Chasing Windmills, The Day I Killed James, and Diary of a Witness.
She is co-author, with publishing industry blogger Anne R. Allen, of How to be a Writer in the E-Age: a Self-Help Guide.
Her bestselling 1999 novel Pay It Forward was made into a major Warner Brothers motion picture. It was chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than two dozen languages for distribution in over 30 countries. Simon & Schuster released a special 15th anniversary edition in December of ’14.
Pay It Forward: Young Readers Edition, an age-appropriate edited edition of the original novel, was released by Simon & Schuster in August of ‘14. It is suitable for children as young as eight.
You can learn much more about Catherine at www.catherineryanhyde.com ~ Goodreads
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