Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde
Publisher: Lake Union Press
Date of publication: December 2016
On an isolated Texas ranch, Dr. Lucy cares for abandoned
animals. The solitude allows her to avoid the people and places that remind her
of the past. Not that any of the townsfolk care. In 1959, no one is interested
in a woman doctor. Nor are they welcoming Calvin and Justin Bell, a newly
arrived African American father and son.
When Pete Solomon, a neglected twelve-year-old boy, and
Justin bring a wounded wolf-dog hybrid to Dr. Lucy, the outcasts soon find
refuge in one another. Lucy never thought she’d make connections again, never
mind fall in love. Pete never imagined he’d find friends as loyal as Justin and
the dog. But these four people aren’t allowed to be friends, much less a
family, when the whole town turns violently against them.
With heavy hearts, Dr. Lucy and Pete say goodbye to Calvin
and Justin. But through the years they keep hope alive…waiting for the world to
catch up with them.
“[A] heartwarming tale of transgression and redemption.” —Kirkus
Reviews
“A moving story about patience, trust, the families we
choose, and the love it takes to let somebody go.” —Booklist
Say Goodbye for Now is a compelling and at times heart wrenching story. Initially set in 1959, it's the story of 4 people who find each other during unstable times and form strong bonds that sustain them through the ups and downs of the turbulent 60s.
I found this book to be hard to read at times. Don't get me wrong, it was well written and the story is beautiful. What I found hard to read was how Calvin and Justin were treated just because of the color of their skin. Because of the time and town they lived in, there was no way Lucy and Calvin could be together. That was so heartbreaking. I'm not going to give away too much of the plot. This is a book you really need to experience for yourself. All through the book, I kept thinking of the saying: If you love something set it free, if it comes back it was meant to be. I just found that so relevant to this book. I'm a sucker for happy endings, so I was rooting for this little family of the heart. The ending was sweet and just what I was waiting for.
About Catherine Ryan Hyde
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of thirty published and
forthcoming books. Her bestselling 1999 novel Pay It Forward,
adapted into a major Warner Bros. motion picture starring Kevin Spacey and
Helen Hunt, made the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults
list and was translated into more than two dozen languages for distribution in
more than thirty countries. Her novels Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart
the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List; Jumpstart
the World was also a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards and won
Rainbow Awards in two categories. More than fifty of her short stories have been
published in many journals, including the Antioch Review, Michigan
Quarterly Review, the Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer
Train, and the Sun, and in the anthologiesSanta Barbara
Stories and California Shorts and the bestselling
anthology Dog Is My Co-Pilot. Her short fiction received honorable
mention in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest, a second-place win for the
Tobias Wolff Award, and nominations for Best American Short Stories,
the O. Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Three have also been cited in Best
American Short Stories.
Ryan Hyde is also founder and former president of the Pay It
Forward Foundation. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the
National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with
AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.
Connect with Catherine Ryan Hyde
Catherine Ryan Hyde’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Monday, December 12th: Ms. Nose in a Book
Tuesday, December 13th: Kritter’s Ramblings
Tuesday, December 13th: Cindy Burnett
Wednesday, December 14th: Chick Lit Central
Thursday, December 15th: 100 Pages a Day
Friday, December 16th: From the TBR Pile
Monday, December 19th: Reading Reality
Monday, December 19th: Barbara Kahn
Tuesday, December 20th: Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, December 20th: Tina Says…
Wednesday, December 21st: Write Read Life
Thursday, December 22nd: Readaholic Zone
Friday, December 23rd: A Chick Who Reads
Monday, December 26th: Palmer’s Page Turners
Wednesday, December 28th: 5 Minutes for Books
Tuesday, December 28th: I’d
Rather Be at the Beach
Thursday, December 29th: Mama
Vicky Says
Monday, January 2nd: Bibliotica
Wednesday, January 4th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Thursday, January 5th: Dwell in Possibility
Date TBD: BookBub
Blog – author guest post
I'm so glad you loved the way everything turned out in the end! Thanks for being a part of the tour.
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