An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestseller.
New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde brings heartwarming authenticity to the story of two strangers who find that kindness is a powerful antidote to fear. Raymond Jaffe feels like he doesn’t belong. Not with his mother’s new family. Not as a weekend guest with his father and his father’s wife. Not at school, where he’s an … father’s wife. Not at school, where he’s an outcast. After his best friend moves away, Raymond has only two real connections: to the feral cat he’s tamed and to a blind ninety-two-year-old woman in his building who’s introduced herself with a curious question: Have you seen Luis Velez?
Mildred Gutermann, a German Jew who narrowly escaped the Holocaust, has been alone since her caretaker disappeared. She turns to Raymond for help, and as he tries to track Luis down, a deep and unexpected friendship blossoms between the two.
Despondent at the loss of Luis, Mildred isolates herself further from a neighborhood devolving into bigotry and fear. Determined not to let her give up, Raymond helps her see that for every terrible act the world delivers, there is a mirror image of deep kindness, and Mildred helps Raymond see that there’s hope if you have someone to hold on to.
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Made Me Feel Better About Our World.
I received an ARC of Have You Seen Luis Velez and I loved it. 15-year-old Raymond and the 92-year-old Mildred drew me into their hearts. I didn’t want the book to end.
This is a “growing into a possibility of better things” novel. It acknowledges the terrible divisions fears and prejudices have created in our society and leads the reader to the realization that every good act performed is a blow to these divisions. In spite of everything the news clamors us to believe, there is so much good in the world and I love Catherine Ryan Hyde because she spotlights it in her beautifully written books.
A lovely heartwarming story about a pair of unlikely friends.
It strikes me to wonder why I’m not writing stories like Hyde’s (at least those I’ve read of hers). A contemporary setting, featuring “ordinary” people who are usually doing it tough (as so very many are, especially these days). A main character with a good heart who is prepared to act on their sense of honour, of right and wrong, even if it costs them. The few other good people that the MC’s actions draws together as a result, making for an odd, seemingly random group of solid friends. The other characters rarely being inherently bad, but just being human: neglectful, selfish, distracted, or just too ground down by circumstances. It strikes me as just my sort of thing.
Well, I enjoy reading them, anyway. More a comfort read than a challenge, but at times that’s exactly what’s needed.
I’m once again amazed at what Catherine Ryan Hyde is able to do within the pages of a story. This is an absolutely beautiful, life-affirming narrative, and I highly recommend it. Not only does it take you into the characters’ world, but it gives you a bit of hope for ours. This is good clean fiction, emotionally charged and in the end…optimistic. Highly recommend.
What a book. This was such an inspirational story. It was very sad and also very happy at the same time. Raymond was a young boy, 16 years old, who was somewhat lost. He didn’t feel like he fit into his family life. His mom and stepdad and three sisters didn’t seem to understand him at all and his dad and stepmother were only there every other weekend and then his stepmother didn’t want him so he just felt as though he didn’t belong anywhere. His best friend was gone and he didn’t have any friends at school.
Raymond befriended an elderly woman who was also blind, in the building he lived in. She was looking for Luis Velez, who had been helping her. Raymond became a good friend to Mildred Gutermann, who he calls Mrs G. She becomes somewhat totally dependent on Raymond and so they form an unlikely friendship. Raymond learns a lot from Mrs G, part of which is how she came to America as a young girl fleeing the Germans during the war. He meets so many people in his quest for looking for Luis Velez. Most are very nice but there are a couple that are not so nice. But he is resilient in his search. Even after he decides to stop he can’t. He feels it’s his duty to help Mr G in anyway he can.
This book contains so many great topics that will leave you thinking. Leave you wondering what this world is truly coming too. The bigotry, murder, fear, lies, friends, love, kind hearts and understanding. Family who are not always so nice to each other and at times are there in ways that truly matter. This book tells the story of what Mrs G went through when she came to America. Leaving her friends behind and feeling the guilt of being a survivor. While she is always telling Raymond that he should not be sorry for every little thing, she blames herself for things that were totally out of her control. A family who loses something so important to them and how they will survive. A woman who should not have done a thing but she did it anyway. A boy who just wants to belong. People from all walks of life can pull together and make a difference in a small way.
I admired Raymond so much. He was not your typical young man. He had such a huge heart and would do anything to make others happy. He did everything he could to help Mrs G and to find Luis Valdez. He had a heart of gold, even saving a cat that another boy wanted to hurt. He didn’t seem to have a selfish bone in his body. Yet you know others would judge him because he was different.
This book made me have many many tears. It was such a heartfelt book that will touch you deep inside. Deep in there where you don’t usually see yourself. It will make you stop and think. Ask yourself questions about your own heart. Your own feelings toward others. At least it did me and I am very happy to know that I do not judge others. I accept people as they are. I know I am by no means perfect, but I do not judge. Raymond was the kindest person I’ve read about in ages for a kid his age especially.
This book will make you feel lots of emotions. Some good, some sad, but feel you will.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #Lake Union Publishers for this copy. This is my own review as I see the book.
I give it a big 5 stars and highly recommend it to others. I have read and loved several of this author’s books but this one is my favorite by far.
This book is about people and the choices they make to behave a certain way. It was a beautiful read and I wished for a Luis or a Raymond but mostly I wished for a Millie in my life.
It followed my favourite theme – paying it forward but without referencing his. Our young hero just does and in doing so gains so much. No spoilers and no plot details from me but if you want to believe the world is not such a bad place then this book is a fantastic read and I thoroughly recommend it.
Once again, Catherine has written a beautiful, touching story with interesting and caring characters. I love starting one of her books because I know I am going to immediately be swept up in the richness of the story. This one did not disappoint. I devoured it!
Raymond feels like he doesn’t fit in anywhere and Millie feels isolated in her small apartment because of her blindness, her fear, and her regrets. In unlikely circumstances, the two become just what the other one needs. As Raymond goes on the search for Luis Velez, he comes to realize that he is just fine the way he is and Millie discovers there truly is goodness in the world.
The journey they each traveled is what makes this story so memorable. I loved both of them and really wanted them to find happiness, acceptance, and friends. Raymond and Millie are characters I won’t soon forget—I loved them and this story so much! I highly recommend Have You Seen Luis Velez?.
‘Never be afraid to look, Raymond. It’s always better to look. Whatever you’re afraid of, turn toward it, not away. Once you do that, it loses all its power over you.’
Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “Have You Seen Luis Velez?” by Catherine Ryan Hyde, May 2019
Catherine Ryan Hyde, Author of “Have You Seen Luis Velez” has written a unique, enthralling, emotional, intriguing, captivating and heartwarming novel. The Genre for this story is Fiction. This is also a Beautiful Coming of Age Story. I love everything about this wonderful book. Catherine Ryan Hyde is an amazing storyteller, and her vivid and colorful descriptions of her characters and the landscape are so realistic. The story takes place in and around New York City. The author describes her dramatic characters as complex and complicated.
Raymond Jaffe, 17 years old feels like an outcast in his family. His best friend is moving away, and his other friend is a kitten that he rescues. He is in his building when an older woman asks him if he or anyone has seen Luis Velez? As Raymond is speaking to Mildred Gutermann, who is 92 years old and blind, he realizes she has no caretaker. Raymond starts helping Mildred and is looking for Luis Velez, who had been helping Mildred. Meanwhile, Raymond and Mildred are becoming good friends.
It seems there are a number of Luis Velez’s’ in the phone book. Raymond goes and visits some of them. There are some interesting encounters, but Raymond has yet to find the correct Luis Velez.
I appreciate that Catherine Ryan Hyde discusses the importance of kindness and friendship. Also discussed are the different prejudices and biases that are based on wealth and poverty, and religion and race. The author writes about love, acceptance, friendship, family, kindness, love, and hope. I highly recommend this amazing book.
Oh my gosh. Have You Seen Luis Velez is one of, if not the most, heartwarming novels I have read in a long time. The characters are so very well developed, they’re interesting and seem like people I’d enjoy meeting. They felt so real I wouldn’t be surprised if one showed up at my door.
The quest Raymond went on to help Mildred was just incredible. He felt like an outcast and someone who didn’t fit in, even in his own family and he just completely took on Mildred’s needs, helping her in any way possible. I loved meeting Luis Velez again and again and wondering if this one was the right one.
Of course, I wanted to shake Raymond’s mother and stepfather, but that’s another story entirely. If you have lost faith in the goodness of people, need a pick-me-up or just an old-fashioned feel good story, this is the book for you. Unless I’m very much mistaken, some film company will be knocking on Catherine Ryan Hyde’s door soon. As for me, I can’t wait to see this made into a movie.
Thank you very much to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for approving my request for an ARC of this wonderful story. All thoughts in this review are my own and are freely given.
Catherine Ryan Hyde never disappoints. This is a story of a teenage boy and a very senior woman who has no family or friends left. Her only attachment is to a man who takes her to the bank and for groceries. One day the man never shows up to help her again. Her new found young friend does more than take her to the bank and the store. He makes it his mission to find out what happened to the gentleman who was helping her. This begins the journey of this book and the things he learns from this senior woman and the people he meets along the way. A lot of people say, what is this world coming to, in this story you will find out what this world is coming to!!! A very thought provoking story.
My “feel good meter” is moved to the max side by reading this heartwarming book. It’s another wonderfully touching story written so well that I couldn’t put it down except for when I HAD to.
This is the story of an unlikely friendship between, Raymond, a 17 year old teenage boy who doesn’t feel he fits in anywhere, and a 92 year old blind lady he calls Mrs. G. Raymond has a family that doesn’t understand him. Mrs. G has no one except Luis Velez but he has disappeared and she doesn’t know why or what happened to him. Raymond and Mrs. G live in the same apartment building and as he is going out to school, she is in her doorway asking if anyone has seen Luis Velez. This plea touches Raymond and he forms a friendship with Mrs. G. Raymond has a giving and compassionate heart. He wants to help Mrs. G and ease her loneliness by finding her friend, Luis Velez.
Raymond’s quest took me along with him. He’s a young man who has acute self awareness and also to those around him. I felt connected to him in his search and the struggles he endured because of self doubt but his desire to ease Mrs. G’s mind compelled him to keep looking. Along the way he met so many people who made a difference in his life, which in turn made a difference in Mrs. G’s life. I loved the pure friendship, trust and love Raymond and Mrs. G formed with each other. They became a “family” that filled the empty places in their hearts and minds.
CRH writes such in depth characters. In this book, I found that the dialogue was so honest and meaningful. Raymond’s thoughts were perfectly expressed and I knew who he was, how he felt, and what touched his heart. Mrs. G has such wisdom from life but also she has so much hurt and guilt inside that she has carried for most of her years. This was what Raymond tapped into. His heart to bring his special friend out of despair and to have a life of happiness.
This set of passages gave me so much to think about of how to respond to despair and look at it differently:
“What would you do if you had a friend who had just fallen into total despair about the world?”…….
“Well, then I’d say you have to do wonderful things.”……
“So if I do wonderful things…..”…..
“The world will still be a place where people do terrible things. But here’s the thing about despair. We fall into despair when the terrible gangs up on us and we forget the world can also be wonderful. We just see terrible everywhere we look. So what you do for your friend is you bring up the wonderful, so both are side by side. The world is terrible and wonderful at the same time. One doesn’t negate the other, but the wonderful keeps us in the game. It keeps us moving forward. And, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Raymond, but that’s as good as the world is going to get.”
I love this story about the love and friendship Raymond and Mrs. G have with each other. They are there for the other in the trials each is going through and the ones they experience together. This book had my heart strings tugged from one extreme to the other but always came back to the core of the relationship between Raymond and Mrs. G. This story is inspirational!
I want to thank Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Ms. Hyde for the absolute honor of an ARC copy of this book. It’s another CRH “top of the list” book for me! I am so happy to write this review of my own thoughts and feelings.
What a great story of a young teenage boy, Raymond Jaffee, who befriends an old lady, Mildred Gutermann in his apartment building.
Raymond is someone that never felt he really fit in, not even with his family and he finds that Milldred sees him for who he is without judgment or seeing for that matter.
Mildred has been asking anyone who walked by, if they new or had seen Luis Velez a man who would come by and help her with her errands, and who had become a great friend of hers, Luis had not come for a few weeks and she was worried. Taking over that role, Raymond secretly tries to find Luis Velez, and this brings in many more amazing characters and stories.
This is a book full of many emotions and lessons to learn, and that is what I love about this authors stories. The author always brings up interesting topics that make you reflect on the issues she presents, and may possibly turn you into a better, more understanding person.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC of this book.
Raymond is 17 years old and on his way to school. On his way out of his apartment building he runs into his neighbor who asks “Have you seen Luis Velez?” This is the start of an amazing friendship. Mildred Gutermann is 92 years old, lives alone, and is blind. Luis comes to help her walk to the bank and store but he hasn’t been by in weeks. Raymond starts helping her and they become friends. I loved this story. I loved the characters with Mrs. G. being my favorite. This was a beautiful book of friendship, family, loss and friends that becomes family. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing. All opinions are my own.
HAVE YOU SEEN LUIS VELEZ by Catherine Ryan Hyde is powerful and moving story of an unexpected friendship between two strangers that ends up saving them. Seventeen-year-old, Raymond feels like he doesn’t belong anywhere. His only friend from school has moved away and his bi-racial divorced parents have both remarried and moved on with their lives, barely including him in their plans. One day he meets ninety-two-year-old, Mildred in the hallway of his apartment building. He learns she is blind and has apparently lost her only caretaker, Luis Velez. Raymond steps in to help Millie and soon their unlikely relationship helps them both see that through kindness and understanding, they have the power to change lives and make the world a better place. The characters in the book are beautifully-portrayed. I felt like I knew them personally. The story kept me engaged from beginning to end. Although it dealt with a lot of serious and heart-breaking issues, the book left me filled with hope that kindness and love can win over hate and division. I enjoyed that Raymond and Millie’s relationship transcended the vast difference in their age and experience. I loved this latest inspiring and thought-provoking novel from Catherine Ryan Hyde and I highly recommend it! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.
What a truly wonderful and inspiring book. My heart is full. I love this author’s work. The main characters brought such wisdom and thought to this story. I highly recommend preordering it. This will be a book that will stay with me a long time.
Every time I read a new CRH book, it becomes my new favorite. So much about this book made me want to stand up and cheer. CRH writes a beautiful story of a mix of generations and race and so many other things going on in our world today. An abundance of love in this book. I hope if I make it to 92 that I have a Raymond or Luis in my life. Excellent read!! Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC.
Another winner from one of my very favorite authors!
This book is not just another piece of feel good fiction. It is inspirational.
A high school junior, a boy sensitive and caring about others, but very unsure of himself wishes to find his purpose and meaning in his life. His assistance to a ninety-two year old blind woman is gratifying but he does have negative experiences due to their friendship. With her guidance he learns to deal with it. Through her gentle influence he begins to believe her philosophy that every life has a value.
These beliefs are put to the test when a dear friend receives unjust treatment from the law. The good, the bad, the helpfulness and the prejudice all emerge.
Through it all, he finally arrives at the conclusion that life is essentially good, people are anxious to help, and no one should judge another.
How this all happens brings us a great story! A value or a moral can be found on many pages. I believe that Catherine Ryan Hyde’s marvelous words and expressions in this novel will be quoted many times in the future.
Excellent book!
Have You Seen Luis Velez is the third book I’ve read by Catherine Ryan Hyde, and I have quickly become a fan of her writing.
Set in the backdrop of New York City, this coming of age story will speak to everyone. The multi-faceted plot of friendship, family, privilege and injustice, is both thought provoking and socially relevent.
Despite the heavy themes, this is a feel good story that shows how one act of kindness ultimately inspired an entire community.
If you’re looking for a book to restore your faith in humanity, this is it.
What a surprisingly wonderful book. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was recommended and I absolutely loved it. The narration is terrific in the audiobook. This book makes me want to be a better person, who doesn’t need that?
I simply could not stop reading until I had finished this book. The story touched my heart and made me realize that we should all strive to live the best lives we can and help each other navigate the potholes and pitfalls on this road called life.
Loved the life lessons served up in so many ways!!