Brave Girl, Quiet Girl

Brave Girl, Quiet Girl: A Novel  by Catherine Ryan Hyde. Lake Union Publishing, 2020. 300 pages ***** Publication Date May 19th, 2020.

Brooke is a single mother living with her difficult mother and her two-year-old daughter, Etta. Whatever Brooke does somehow never measures up to what her mother thinks should be done. "Buckle your seatbelt" "take Etta out more" Brooke and her mother are constantly arguing over Etta's care and whose car is safer. Her mother sees the whole world as being dangerous even though they live in a nice part of West LA. One night Brooke buckles Etta securely into her car seat but leaves her own seat belt undone because she was wearing a big, long sweater, and it kept getting caught. Brooke stopped at a red light when it happened. A man moved fast towards her side of the car and before she could react, her window shattered. A hand opened her car door and pulled her from the car. Brooke sat in the middle of the highway and watched her mother's car drive away with Etta in her car seat in the backseat. Every mother's nightmare!
Later that night, Molly, a teen estranged from her family, living on the streets, sees a baby in a carseat on the sidewalk. Molly can't believe her eyes and her first thought is to find a phone and call the police. Not as easy as it seems, markets are closed, no pay phones anymore and people living on the street don't have cell phones. Molly realizes that she is now responsible for the baby and must keep her safe.

Brooke and Molly's lives are totally different but the one thing that they have in common, they are both looking for a home and family where they belong and are accepted. Drawn together by this horrific act, Hyde has created a heart-stopping story of love, acceptance, and friendship. I am not a crier and do not cry easily, but this story really touched my heart. Hyde portrays the good in people even in the midst of evil. Mr. Rogers once said" When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Catherine Ryan Hyde shows us the helpers and inspires us to be the good.

Catherine Ryan Hyde is one of my favorite "go to" authors. I know when I sit down to read one of her books, I am going to love it! Each one of her books is distinctly different from the other and a treat in itself. Make sure you add this one to your TBR list and preorder it so you don't miss it!

I received an ecopy for a review.

Other Hyde books that I have read and reviewed:
Have You Seen Luis Velez?
Just After Midnight
Heaven Adjacent

To read more about her: http://www.catherineryanhyde.com


#bravegirlquietgirl #psychologicalthriller