'Don't Let Me Go', by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Don’t Let Me Go, Catherine Ryan Hyde (3)

Meeting an author and getting to chat with them about their process is quite special. Our book club was lucky enough to meet Ms. Hyde and discuss this book and her general writing process. While she is most well known for having written ‘Pay It Forward’, that was her third book and she has written over 30 now. I have not read any others, but I was surprised how similar this book was in tone and overall subject to ‘Pay It Forward’.  One of the main characters is a precocious girl who brings out the best in all the adults who meet her. All the characters (except the girl) have a relatively large flaw, but something good down deep – which the girl sees quickly with the lack of guile only the young seem to have. All the characters live in an apartment building in LA. Grace, the child, is often alone as her mother is an addict who is often ‘sleeping’. The other adults in the apartment begin to take turns watching over Grace so that she doesn’t get taken by Child Services. The most interesting character is Billy, the gay, agoraphobic ex-dancer who Grace drags into her life. Much of the story is about his evolution – due to Grace’s needs and under her urging- back to a functioning member of society. I liked that the chapters alternated between Grace and Billy’s points of view. The story was not particularly complex, but this added needed texture. Overall the book is uplifting in many ways, though somewhat unrealistic. I’d like to think that an apartment in a bad part of LA could have 6-8 flawed people who were as good as Grace finds them to be, but my cynical side is doubtful.