A tender and triumphant story of friendships and doing the right thing.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SUMMARY
Brooke is a divorced single mom, financially strapped, living with her unhappy and very negative mother. Brooke’s life is shattered when she’s carjacked. Helpless and terrified, all Brooke can do is watch as her two year old daughter, Etta, still strapped in her car seat, disappears into the Los Angeles night.
Molly had been kick out of her parents home and has barely surviving on the street of LA She is stunned to find Etta, abandoned on a sidewalk in her car seat. Shielding the little girl from more than the elements, Molly must put herself in harm’s way to protect the brave and quiet little girl.
Out of one terrible moment, Brooke’s and Molly’s desperate paths converge and an unlikely friendship across generations and circumstances is formed.
REVIEW
BRAVE GIRL, QUIET GIRL is a touching chronicle of a sixteen year old girl living on the streets of LA trying to do the right thing. Molly, thrown out on the streets by her mother, is a courageous, determined and delightful character. The story is thought-provoking as well as entertaining.
CATHERINE RYAN HYDE’s has a way of writing with her heart, and particularly making her young characters come alive on the pages of her novels. Hyde’s characters alway rise to the occasion of resolving an untenable situation. In this case, it’s an abandon baby. Despite her own desperate situation, Molly cares for and ultimately is able to safely return Etta to Brooke.
The story not only explores teen homelessness, but it’s main focus is of friendships and mother-daughter relationships. Why did Molly‘s mother put her out on the streets in the first place? Why is Brooke’s relationship with her own mother just as difficult as Molly’s? Is there anything Brooke can do to help Molly?
My favorite part of the book was that both Molly and Brooke realize that they have no choice but to live through the stressfull situation they find themselves in. Neither had the time nor inclination to just give up or fall apart. Both were strong and determined. Like her other recent novels: STAY and What HAPPENED TO LUIS VELEZ Hyde has given us another tender and triumphant story.
Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher Lake Union
Published May 19, 2020
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com
