Catherine Ryan Hyde

August, a high school science teacher is in the repair shop with his vehicle. He is talking to Wes, as he repairs his vehicle. August explains to Wes that he will not be able to go to Yellowstone as he planned this year because of the cost of the repairs. It is very important that August make it to Yellowstone this year. Wes comes up with a plan and says he will not charge him at all for the repairs if August takes his two sons, Seth age 12 and Henry age 7 on the trip with him. August is inclined to say no, but finds himself saying yes. So the adventure begins and the reader finds out why Wes asked August to take his sons. The boys really bond with August and it becomes the best summer of their lives.… (mais)

This is the first book I've read by this author, but I don't think it will be my last.

This story begins in 1965 when Anton, and 18 year old boy, receives a telescope from his parents as a Christmas present right before they leave for 2 weeks. One night, he witnesses a domestic violence incident and it bothers him...so much so that he finds the apartment and goes there the next day to see if she is ok. Eventually, they strike up a friendship and spend a lot of time together during the 2 weeks his parents are gone. They don't see each other again for almost 20 years and a chance encounter puts them in the same place at the same time.

This is a story about finding love, losing it and finding it again.

Received this book from NetGalley.… (mais)

Once again, no surpirse....Hyde has written all the way around a topic, covering in detail every aspect of the issue, from at least three points of view that are closely connected but then we also have what happens to the other people , in widening circles, who are also affected by the situations these three woman experienced. Norma is a gem of a character and as usual, I picture Catherine Ryan Hyde right inside her, directing everythinig that happens....she IS Norma, in a sense..Where does Hyde's own remarkable ability to write, always, about how we WISH the world would work, with common sense and just letting people live their lives without the burdens of cruelty and just plain meanness. There is comfort, always, in reading a Catherinie Ryan Hyde book.… (mais)

A Different Kind of Gone by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Thought provoking look at the way life can change by making one choice versus another.

What I liked:
* Norma: bar tender, divorced, mother of two sons, volunteers for search and rescue, has a horse and two hounds, gruff, quiet, a bit of a loner, wise, cares more than she seems to, has secrets, in her fifties when the story begins
* Betty: tends bar with Norma, outgoing, warm hearted, open, the opposite of Norma, good friend, similar in age to Norma
* Jill and Wanda: both suffered abuse at the hands of the same man, managed to escape, benefited from knowing Norma, and matured quite a bit in the book
* Norma’s backstory that comes out and helps explain why she makes the choices she does related to Jill and Wanda
* The search and rescue component of the story, Norma’s horse Fred and her hounds Lonny and Gracie, and the close bond between animals and human that are seen throughout the book
* The way abuse was handled, how it impacted more than one character in the story, its ripple effect, and the mention of why some who go missing get more airtime than others
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing
* That it made me think, feel, and care about the outcome
* Reading a new to me author I will read again
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about abuse and the impact it has

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake union Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars… (mais)