JUST A REGULAR BOY by Catherine Ryan Hyde

 

My thoughts

I've read many of Catherine Ryan Hyde's books and loved them all. I've cried through them and laughed at a few. This one is my favorite though. This child. This little boy captured my heart and I know I won't forget him for a good long while. He is just precious and so very strong. What he went through was atrocious. 

Remy was only five years old when his dad took him away from everything he knew. Away from his best friend. His home. His life. His mom had died and now his dad was taking him away to a cabin way out in the wilderness. To live off the grid. No electricity. No phone. No running water. Not one thing to make life easy in any way what so ever... His dad believed that people were going to blow each other up. Come to a bad end. Hunt each other down and kill each other. He taught his boy, Remi, to believe that. To be not just afraid but terrified of people. No one was going to be good to him. Then his dad up and died on him. Left him completely alone in a one room shack. Out in the middle of nowhere. Not another living human being anywhere that he could call out to for help. Soon his food was gone. He was not well and he had to do something. He started walking. 

What this child endured was so horrible and so sad. He had no trust for anyone and was afraid of everything. He was almost eight now and totally alone for a couple of years. He left one place trying to find a new home of sorts. Still he was afraid of people so he did the best he could. One day his life was turned around. It was for the better but he didn't know that. What happened to him next was the most amazing thing and just what he deserved. He deserved a home. A life. A family. Of course to get that he did have to go through so much still. So much healing. He had many broken bones and many inside scars. He had to learn to trust again and only one woman was able to break that barrier. To get inside his head and make him feel safe. 

As soon as Anne heard about Remy she knew he was going to be hers. She was a foster mom and already had two adopted children that she and her husband Chris had given home too. They loved them dearly and they were a family. Adding Remy was what made them all complete. They learned to trust each other. To be there for each other. To be a family of broken yet glued back together with a fierce kind of family love. 

This book takes you into the deep woods and into the mind of a survivalist. Into the mind of this survivalist's child. Into the mind of a foster mother. Into the hearts of a family with so much love and hope to give one small child. To bring him back from the brink of a complete meltdown that he might not have otherwise survived. It's a true story of hope in a world of some pretty messed up people. You'll feel this book deep in your bones. Your heart will never be the same. But in a good way.

Thank you #NetGalley, #CatherineRyanHyde, #LakeUnionPublishers for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Five huge stars and I recommend this one to everyone. Be prepared for the tears. It's a tearjerker for sure. But also such a good story.