Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of twenty-five books, which include Where We Belong, When You Were Older, Walk Me Home, When I Found You, Don't Let Me Go, The Language of Hoofbeats, and Take Me With You, among others. More than fifty of her short stories have been published in various literary magazines. Following the success of Pay It Forward, Catherine founded the Pay It Forward Foundation and served as president until 2009. She lives in California with her dog, Ella, and their cat, Jordan. To learn more about the foundation and other forthcoming books, visit CatherineRyanHyde.com.
"Pay It Forward--a book poised to become a phenomenon--is a
well-designed confection that author Catherine Ryan Hyde has
executed with abundant skill. If you ever had a yen for the
utopian, you will have a sweet time with this heartfelt
fable."--San Jose Mercury-News
"[An] affecting tale . . . Hyde's meticulously wrought, restrained
prose imbues Pay It Forward with a transcendent power to
move."--The Arizona Daily Star
"[A] fascinating idea . . . well-written . . . the characters are
interesting and complex and flawed and real. . . . Pay It Forward
will get you thinking outside of its pages, as few books do."--The
South Carolina Herald
"An extraordinary tale that, like its young protagonist, just might
change the world. . . . Pay It Forward is a delightfully uplifting,
moving, and inspiring modern fable that has the power to change the
world as we know it--which would be a wonderful phenomenon
indeed."--Bookpage
An ordinary boy engineers a secular miracle in Hyde's (Funerals for Horses) winning second novel, set in small-town 1990s California. Twelve-year-old Trevor McKinney, the son of Arlene, a single mom working two jobs, and Ricky, a deadbeat absentee dad, does not seem well-positioned to revolutionize the world. But when Trevor's social studies teacher, Reuben St. Clair, gives the class an extra-credit assignment, challenging his students to design a plan to change society, Trevor decides to start a goodwill chain. To begin, he helps out three people, telling each of them that instead of paying him back, they must "pay it forward" by helping three others. At first, nothing seems to work out as planned, not even Trevor's attempt to bring Arlene and Reuben together. Granted, Trevor's mother and his teacher are an unlikely couple: she is a small, white, attractive, determined but insecure recovering alcoholic; he is an educated black man who lost half his face in Vietnam. But eventually romance does blossom, and unbeknownst to Trevor, his other attempts to help do "pay forward," yielding a chain reaction of newsworthy proportions. Reporter Chris Chandler is the first to chase down the story, and Hyde's narrative is punctuated with excerpts from histories Chandler publishes in later years (Those Who Knew Trevor Speak and The Other Faces Behind the Movement), as well as entries from Trevor's journal. Trevor's ultimate martyrdom, and the extraordinary worldwide success of his project, catapult the drama into the realm of myth, but Hyde's simple prose rarely turns preachy. Her Capraesque themeÄthat one person can make a differenceÄmay be sentimental, but for once, that's a virtue. $250,000 ad/promo; BOMC and QPB alternates; 7-city author tour; film rights optioned by Warner Bros. (Feb.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
YA-Eighth-grader Trevor is challenged by his social-studies teacher to do something that will change the world. And he does. His rule is to do one very good deed for three different people, telling them that rather than paying him back, they are to "pay it forward" to three others. When the numbers grow exponentially, The Movement starts and the world is changed. Hyde uses a variety of writing styles and techniques to present the story: a first-person account by Chris, the journalist who writes about The Movement; excerpts from his books; transcripts of his interviews; entries from Trevor's diary; and a third-person narration. The central character changes in these chapters as the story moves forward but these shifts are clear enough that most readers should not be confused. A short, unsavory sexual episode results in a violent, sacrificial ending that is softened somewhat through foreshadowing. Since the film version of the book has already been cast, YAs are likely to be asking for it soon.-Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
"Pay It Forward--a book poised to become a phenomenon--is a
well-designed confection that author Catherine Ryan Hyde has
executed with abundant skill. If you ever had a yen for the
utopian, you will have a sweet time with this heartfelt
fable."--San Jose Mercury-News
"[An] affecting tale . . . Hyde's meticulously wrought, restrained
prose imbues Pay It Forward with a transcendent power to
move."--The Arizona Daily Star
"[A] fascinating idea . . . well-written . . . the characters are
interesting and complex and flawed and real. . . . Pay It
Forward will get you thinking outside of its pages, as few
books do."--The South Carolina Herald
"An extraordinary tale that, like its young protagonist, just might
change the world. . . . Pay It Forward is a delightfully
uplifting, moving, and inspiring modern fable that has the power to
change the world as we know it--which would be a wonderful
phenomenon indeed."--Bookpage
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