Walk Me Home

Written by the author of “Pay It Forward”, this book should not be limited to a young adult audience. Although the main character, Carly, is sixteen, she faces life situations that are all too common at any age – betrayal, abandonment, questions of loyalty, subborness, and the need for adaptability. I consider this to be an almost perfect book. I will remember its story and characters for a long time. A quest/travel plot is always appealing; but this one goes deeper than most. The author very skillfully keeps you in suspense about the truth and origins of the plot conflict until the very end, which makes for a real page turner. Especially brilliant are the descriptions of emotions and relationships. The author is a master of simile, providing deep understanding of inner motivation and the shifts that occur when people communicate. Equally stunning are her descriptions of place and details. The reader longs for the deep blue sky or the Arizona desert, or that first glimpse of ocean after a long, dangerous journey. Many books for teens, especiallly those written for the mass market, in my humble opinion, glamorize headstrong girls, and make them seem like role models. This book, on the other hand, leads the main character to question how her stubborness leads her astray, and how perhaps listening can be equally as important as speaking your mind. She also grapples with the oh-so-difficult of apologizing – but not in the cheesy way a less skillful writer might do. Although the main character is not always as likeable as her younger sister, we come to empathize with her anger, and thus struggle along with her as she sees the need for tempering her pride. Thus, we mature right along with her, and feel that we, too, have become a bit wiser through her journey.

Carly and Jen, the girls in the story had an very eventful life for such young girls. Treated poorly by a selfish mother, forced to live in less than ideal environments, the girls stayed strong and pulled together. Carly’s self discovery made her step back and see her experiences through different eyes, softening to many things that had made her unyielding previously. The story pulls you in and keeps you interested, yet it is very unrealistic. The girls run away and walk hundreds of miles down highways and roads trying to get from New Mexico to CA. Very little money–like a few dollars, no food, no transportation, only the cloths on their backs basically, and they survived with only blisters, chapped lips and sunburns. They are taken in by an old Native American woman who is pretty blind. The local police know the girls are there, and the authorities do nothing. Then the older one (16), hops a train, has many dangerous mis-haps, hitch-hikes and finally takes a bus to to northern CA, to find her deceased mother’s ex-boyfriend, the only friend she has in the world. To discover he has a pot grow in the garage and he tried to molest her younger sister (12) a few months earlier. But, the police officer from the reservation, drove all the way to Northern CA to rescue her before she even knew she needed rescuing, showing up right as her world was falling apart again and whisked her back to the reservation and her sister and the blind old woman. After some sole searching and heart to hearts, Carly finally began to soften up and let those around her get close. She was able to see that her mom might not of been the monster she had thought she was. A good story, yet very fanciful with unrealistic situations and outcomes. Good as a fun read that requires no thought on the readers part.

So many twists and turns in the story. You can never predict what you think will happen. I also learned what that author wanted me to take away from this book in the end. Thank you for that. I don’t want to give the most heartfelt lesson away.

this is the 4th or 5th book by catherine ryan hyde i have read. i am going to keep going. each of those books, including this one, about two young sisters who have not had much luck in their life, are little windows into the life or lives, of others. the people in her books are wildly different, but each has a path to trod, a search, a resolution to achieve, and she shows us how this happens. it's some wonderful magic, that this writer is able to present the internal workings of many different people, and make you care so much what happens to them, and hope for them to get to where they need to be in life. i generally read sci-fi, but will read anything if it is well written. and these books are. catherine ryan hyde is a very good writer of family drama, but on a human, personal, humble scale; this is not overblown drama. she takes you with her, with her characters, as they search for their next step in life. i find these books to be wonderfully satisfying, and the characters so real. this is not difficult reading, nor is it simplistic. far from my chosen genre to read, i keep reading her books for a reason- i love reading them! highly recommended. perhaps start with "never let me go" or "when you were younger".

Both my wife and I loved this book. Well written and very touching Will read more by this author

Estória legal. Muito interessante para quem quer conhecer o outro lado da fronteira com os EUA e entender que são seres humanos que tentam atravessá-la.

I award few 5 stars but I very much enjoyed this book. It is a story of two resilient sisters who find themselves without parents, a home or a direction in life. The characters are well defined, their adventures are interesting, and the ending of the story is not one which I expected. The book could be enjoyed by young and mature readers. For the older reader it is a reminder of what it was like to be a belligerent teenager and where that attitude can lead; for the younger reader there is a lesson to be learned by not being so. The description of the desert scenes are very true to life. I look forward to reading more by this author.

A great storyline, mysterious, heart warming, sad and just overall fantastic! Was one of the best books I've read in a while. Loved it!

Very enjoyable although I guessed the ending but none the less well written. I will definitely be reading more of her books.