An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestseller.
From New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde comes a gripping and emotional novel about friendship, motherhood, and the journey toward finding a place to call home.
Brooke is a divorced single mom, financially strapped, living with her mother, and holding tight to the one thing that matters most: her two-year-old daughter, Etta. … matters most: her two-year-old daughter, Etta. Then, in a matter of seconds, Brooke’s life is shattered when she’s carjacked. Helpless and terrified, all Brooke can do is watch as Etta, still strapped in her seat, disappears into the Los Angeles night.
Miles away, Etta is found by Molly, a homeless teen who is all too used to darkness. Thrown away by her parents, and with a future as stable as the wooden crate she calls home, Molly survives day to day by her wits. As unpredictable as her life is, she’s stunned to find Etta, abandoned and alone. Shielding the little girl from more than the elements, Molly must put herself in harm’s way to protect a child as lost as she is.
Out of one terrible moment, Brooke’s and Molly’s desperate paths converge and an unlikely friendship across generations and circumstances is formed. With it, Brooke and Molly will come to discover that what’s lost—and what’s found—can change in a heartbeat.
more
Thanks to the author and publisher for an ARC of this AMAZING and special book. Grabs you on the first page and keeps you on the edge of your seat to the very end. A carjacking with a baby in the back seat. A distraught mother. A homeless struggling teenager who finds the baby sitting on the sidewalk abandoned in her car seat. How will this all work out ? Can these strangers be friends, family even ? Just a beautiful story. Sad and heartwarming. This is a must read ! If you are a fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde you must read this when it comes out.
Another good read by a favorite author, who is so good at writing about feelings and different issues that life can throw at you.
In this story, she breaches on the subject, of homeless people, gender identity, parent child relationships and a carjacking that brought it all together.
Brooke is a single mom, who one night after having taken her young daughter to a movie had her car carjacked with her baby still inside. Her daughter Etta, who is two years old disappears into the night.
That night a young homeless girl Molly finds the baby strapped in her car seat by the side of the road.
Scared and hungry she hid with the baby, until she felt is was safe enough to call the police. A lot goes on before she can reunite the mother with her child, and once that happens there is a lot of emotions and misunderstandings, before trust can be built between Brooke and Molly.
Great story of human fragility, strength and unbreakable spirit.
I cannot wait to read her next story.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the copy of this book.
This novel tugged on my heartstrings from the very first pages. Brooke loves her daughter fiercely and with her whole heart. When a crime separates her from her daughter her whole world is upended. When homeless teen Molly finds baby Etta, her instinct is to protect this beautiful sweet child above all else.
As the story unfolds Brooke and Molly meet and an unlikely relationship evolves. This poignant tale looks at motherhood from multiple lenses and makes the reader wonder: What makes a good mother? Are some people just born to be mothers? Are we all destined to become a version of our own mothers? I could not put the story down until I knew how Brooke, Molly and Etta’s story would be resolved.
Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by author Catherine Ryan Hyde is amazing! The book delivers the right amount of terror, fear, and emotional drama to keep me reading non-stop. A simple outing to the movies spins into disaster for a single mother. Brooke is savagely carjacked for her mother’s Mercedes and her two-year-old daughter is taken as her car seat sits in the rear seat of the car. Brooke is terrified and the police issue an Amber Alert for baby Etta. Later that night Molly, a homeless teenager, finds a baby on the side of the street. She fears for the child’s safety and hides her from three street bullies who are looking for the child to use her for a ransom because of the Amber Alert. Hidden under a flattened cardboard box, Molly tries to keep baby Etta quiet as she sings “Brave Girl, Quiet Girl” until the danger passes. The story helps the reader understand how others avoid the homeless in the streets even when they are asking for help. No one will stop and help Molly or call 911 to report finding a baby. I won’t post spoilers, but there are so many depths to the emotions in this story. I love the characters of Brooke and Molly!
Publication Date: May 19, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review the ARC of Brave Girl, Quiet Girl.
What would you do if you were carjacked and your child was in a carseat in the back portion of the car? This is what happens to Brooke, a divorced single mom of Etta, her two-year-old daughter in the book, Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde! What happens to Etta, who is found by Molly, a homeless teenager that survives by her wits and now tries to take good care and protect this new found child. Through these terrible circumstances, Catherine Ryan Hyde brings about an amazing story of friendship, hardship, heartfelt change, and a journey finding a place to call home. Loved every minute reading this book and I recommend the book to all readers! This is my voluntary review and honest opinion of this advanced readers copy from Netgalley!
Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde
After reading Stay, I couldn’t wait to read Ms Hyde’s newest book Brave Girl, Quiet Girl. It did not disappoint . This book is told from alternating points of view. The first from Brooke, a single mother of 2 year old Etta. She is trying to make the best life possible for herself and Etta but has been forced to move back in with her overbearing and judgmental mother. Her mother sees the world as being a cold, hard and very dangerous place to live and somehow nothing Brooke can do is ever good enough for her. The second point of view is from Molly, a 16 year old street smart girl. These two stories collide when Brooke tries to take Etta to the movies and her car is carjacked with baby Etta inside, What follows is a novel involving the issues of family relationships, throw away children, the failure of Social Services, the effect of judgmental attitudes, forgiveness and second chances. If nothing else, this book causes one to reexamine their own attitudes towards homelessness, pointing out the need for empathy and understanding and less judgement. Such a timely book will stay with me and give me much to think about. Well worth reading
Another great one from CRH! An emotionally driven book with real people, real lives and real issues. So much going on here between mothers and daughters, rejection, being homeless, starting over and also a lot of acceptance and caring and new beginnings. All this authors books seem to have valuable life lessons and this one is no different.
Thanks to Netgalley and the Lake Union Publishing for the ARC
Thank you Catherine Ryan Hyde, Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley for this ARC.
As usual CRH has given us an excellent story, emotions and feelings galore. Well written and thought provoking
I have become a huge fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde in the past year after I read Have You Seen Luis Velez? I then began a goal to read her new and previous books. Her book to be released on May 19, 2020, Brave Girl, Quiet Girl (which, by the way, I love that title!), I believe is my new favorite. I have been immensely touched by Ms Hyde’s previous stories, but this one found a place that was so deep within me. By one-third of the book I was crying. That became the norm off and on for the rest of the book.
This author creates characters that become real to me. I care deeply about them. I am invested in their lives. Her characters are far from perfect. She makes you love them with all their flaws.
I will not write about the plot itself. A potential reader can find that easily. I will say that although the world she writes about in this book is foreign to me, I believe she captured it well. People are judged by their image, by their possessions and by their actions. Sometimes these are not a true judge of the person. Sometimes a person’s actions speak more for them than anything else.
The world of the book is told with two different perspectives. One view is from Molly a 16 year old, which I found totally captivating and genuine. The other view is from Brooke who is 39 and is more worldly, yet almost as lost as Molly. Reading the two views of situations that occur brought so much to the understanding and immersion into the story.
This book will make you think about your interactions with strangers and with difficult people in your life. Themes of forgiveness, gratitude and trust are constantly interwoven in the plot.
I recommend this heart-touching book so very highly. I believe it will be on many book club reading lists and will be a much talked about book after it is released in May 2020.
I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for giving me the wonderful gift of allowing me to read the ARC of Brave Girl, Queit Girl. My review is my own opinion not influenced by receiving the Advance Reader Copy.
A beautiful,touching story that had me crying most of the way throughout the pages. I can’t stop thinking about these characters!
Brooke is trying her very best to take care of her young daughter Etta and herself.
Unfortunately, she needs a better job and a better place to live than with her mom.
Relationships are not easy and she always felt that she disappointed her mother.
Nobody wants to feel unworthy and she wants to do better for her own child.
When the unexpected nightmare happens one night and Etta disappears, Brooke prays that whomever has her will comfort her and keep Etta safe.
Molly, a homeless teenager finds this baby and does exactly that!
She truly falls in love with this brave little girl!
Molly, Etta and Brooke need love, family and friendship and this is their story of survival!
Truly one of my very favorite books!
I dare you to not need tissues while you read this!
“Friends are the family you choose.”
Good read! A great choice for a book club.
No real surprises but a book that makes you think…. what if? What if this happened to me? What if it was my child? What if ….?
Thank you #netgalley and #lakeunionpublishing for the eARC.