The Wake Up
Paperback and e-book, 332 pages
Published December 5th 2017 by Lake Union Publishing
From New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde comes a hauntingly emotional novel of how one man’s life changes forever when he rediscovers his ability to feel the pain of others.
Something has been asleep in forty-year-old cattle rancher Aiden Delacorte for a long time. It all comes back in a rush during a hunting trip, when he’s suddenly attuned to the animals around him, feeling their pain and fear as if it were his own. But the newfound sensitivity of Aiden’s “wake up” has its price. He can no longer sleepwalk through life, holding everyone at arm’s length. As he struggles to cope with a trait he’s buried since childhood, Aiden falls in love with Gwen, a single mother whose young son bears a burden of his own.
Sullen and broken from his experiences with an abusive father, Milo has turned to acting out in violent and rebellious ways. Aiden can feel the boy’s pain, as well as that of his victims. Now he and Milo must sift through their pasts to find empathy with the innocent as well as the guilty, to come to terms with their deepest fears, and to finally discover the compassionate heart of a family.
My thoughts about The Wake Up ~~
(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 line.)
First lines—"The phone jangled Aiden out of sleep. His heart raced, and he knocked over a plastic drinking glass and the alarm clock while reaching for the receiver."
I have yet to read a book by Catherine Ryan Hyde that I didn't just fall in love with. The Wake Up is another wonderful story by this most wonderful storyteller. She once again put words together to create an incredible world filled with memorable characters.
Aiden finds that his gift of feeling other's emotions had been reawakened. Not knowing if this is a good thing or not, he opens his heart and his home to Gwen and her two children. But it's not as easy as it sounds. Gwen's little boy, Milo has issues of his own. As they try to heal and move on, the bonds that are created could be easily broken or they could make each other stronger.
Catherine is a must read author for me. I know each story she tells will be beautiful and emotional and that the words will flow off of the pages and into my heart.
I have yet to read a book by Catherine Ryan Hyde that I didn't just fall in love with. The Wake Up is another wonderful story by this most wonderful storyteller. She once again put words together to create an incredible world filled with memorable characters.
Aiden finds that his gift of feeling other's emotions had been reawakened. Not knowing if this is a good thing or not, he opens his heart and his home to Gwen and her two children. But it's not as easy as it sounds. Gwen's little boy, Milo has issues of his own. As they try to heal and move on, the bonds that are created could be easily broken or they could make each other stronger.
Catherine is a must read author for me. I know each story she tells will be beautiful and emotional and that the words will flow off of the pages and into my heart.
I received a copy of The Wake Up from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
About the author
I'm the the author of 30 published and forthcoming books.
My newest releases are Ask Him Why, Worthy, The Language of Hoofbeats, Take Me With You , Where We Belong, Walk Me Home, Subway Dancer and Other Stories, When You Were Older, Don’t Let Me Go, When I Found You, Second Hand Heart, The Long, Steep Path: Everyday Inspiration From the Author of Pay It Forward, Always Chloe and Other Stories, and 365 Days of Gratitude: Photos from a Beautiful World.
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.
I have two forthcoming new novels due out in 2016 from Lake Union/Amazon Publishing, Leaving Blythe River and Say Goodbye For Now.
Other novels include 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.
I am co-author, with publishing industry blogger Anne R. Allen, of How to be a Writer in the E-Age: a Self-Help Guide.—from Goodreads
