Worthy

Worthy: A Novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde. Seattle: Lake Union Publishing, 2015. 321 pages, paperback. *****

Virginia works in a diner in a small town longing for love and a family of her own. Aaron's wife died of cancer and he is raising Buddy by himself.  Aaron finally works up the courage to ask Virginia on a date. Life intervenes with disastrous results. 

Fast forward nineteen years and Virginia is co-owner of the diner and engaged to be married.  Her fiancé may not be the perfect guy, he doesn't get along with her dog T-Rex, but at fifty-six years old, she thinks she has run out of options. Her best friend Fern is content to live alone, but Virginia can't stop thinking about what might have been with Aaron and Buddy.

Catherine Ryan Hyde has woven a heart-warming story of love, relationships, compassion and what really makes a family. Life doesn't always turn out the way we expect and Hyde is masterful in her moving story of a young boy who experiences loss and always feeling different from others. Definitely a 5 star read! 

Hyde is the bestselling author of twenty-seven published and forthcoming book. Her bestselling 1999 novel Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture.