Life, Loss, and Puffins by Catherine Ryan Hyde. Seattle, Lake Union Publishing, 2024. 269 pages. ****
Rumaki Evans is freakishly smart. Ru overheard her mother telling someone that when she was five. She's now thirteen and about to start college. Ru has been accepted to a very prestigious university with a full-ride scholarship, the only problem is that it is 150 miles away from home. The University has a program where it matches students with a family in a live-in situation. Sounds perfect to Ru, her mother isn't too sure about the whole college thing.
Ru is paired with a mother and her son, seventeen -year-old, Gabriel. Through her friendship with Gabriel, Ru is for the first time able to feel accepted for who she is while encouraging Gabe to be himself.
Hyde is my feel good author. Her books explore the messiness of humans and how love and friendship bridge the gap in relationships. Ru and Gabriel are at a crossroads in their lives, their current situations are untenable and both are longing for adventure and independence. Some may suggest that their ability to achieve items on Ru's bucket list as impossible, yet their philosophy of "right place, right time', gets them there.
I received an ecopy for a review.
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of well over forty-five books and counting. An avid traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer, she shares her astrophotography with readers on her website. For more information on Hyde, click here
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