Enjoy!
HAVE YOU SEEN LUIS VELEZ?
by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Lake Union Publishing | May 21st, 2019
Paperback: $14.95 | ISBN: 978-1542042369
eBook: $4.99 | ASIN: B07JZ3G2WQ
Buy it: Amazon/B&N/IndieBound
ADD TO: GOODREADS
From New York
Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde comes HAVE YOU SEEN
LUIS VELEZ? (Lake Union, on sale May 21st,
2019), a moving new novel about two
strangers who find that kindness is a powerful antidote to fear.
Raymond Jaffe doesn’t feel like he belongs. His mother and stepfather
don’t understand him, and his stepsisters pretty much ignore him; he only sees
his dad and his new wife every other weekend; and after his best friend Andre
moves away, he’ll have no one left at school, either. But one question, uttered
from down the hall on the second floor of his apartment building, is enough to
give him a new sense of purpose: Have you seen Luis Velez?
The question comes from Mildred “Millie” Gutermann, a
92-year-old resident in Raymond’s building whom he’s never met until that
moment. He finds it eerie how she is looking toward him, but not actually at him…until he realizes that she is
blind. Luis Velez, he soon learns, had helped Millie run errands and go to the
grocery store at least three times a week for nearly four years—until very
recently, when he seemed to vanish into thin air. Millie, unable to go to the
store or the bank by herself, is now almost entirely out of food. Without a
second thought, Raymond takes her by the arm and leads her to the grocery store
in the first of what will become many trips together.
But
helping his new friend Millie isn’t enough for Raymond. He can tell she is
shaken and worried by Luis’s disappearance, and he decides to find out what
happened, even if it means knocking on the door of every man named Luis Velez
in New York. As “The Luis Project” takes off, Raymond wonders if he’ll ever
find the right one. He fears that something bad could have happened to Luis—or
that nothing bad has happened at all, and Luis simply doesn’t want to help
Millie anymore—and he worries about how he’ll break that kind of news to her.
But while Raymond desperately searches for Luis, he realizes that Millie is
helping him find something else: hope for the future.
HAVE YOU SEEN LUIS VELEZ? is
sure to delight fans of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s previous novels and inspire them with
its original, insightful characters. Hyde once again asks readers to question
the conventional boundaries of family and friendship and see how they can turn
a hopeless situation into something worth fighting for. As Raymond’s unlikely
friendship with Millie blossoms, and they each reach the lowest of lows, they
both realize how much they have to learn from each other, and that kindness,
perseverance, and a strong belief in yourself can overcome any obstacle.
Praise:
“Heartwarming… This touching portrait of
Raymond’s sorrow, and his quest for understanding the world and why it seems so
unfair, is a solid choice for book groups with a lot of important issues to
discuss.”
Library Journal
“Hyde has crafted a spellbinding coming-of-age story deepened by the
satisfaction of belonging, the vibrancy of community, and the power of
connection. Fans of Liane Moriarty and Kristin Hannah will adore the deep
connection between the unlikeliest of friends.”
Booklist
“A master of making a heartwarming tale feel authentic and socially
urgent, Hyde deftly sketches the plights of Raymond and Millie, weighting their
friendship with worries and regrets that echo as true…
A tender tale of new families born of chance and the determination to
bring light into darkness.”
Kirkus
Other titles by Catherine Ryan Hyde:
Just After Midnight
Heaven Adjacent
The Wake Up
Allie and Bea
Say Goodbye for Now
Leaving Blythe River
Ask Him Why
Worthy
The Language of Hoofbeats
Pay It Forward: Young
Readers Edition
Take Me with You
Paw It Forward
365 Days of Gratitude:
Photos from a Beautiful World
Where We Belong
Subway Dancer and Other
Stories
Walk Me Home
Always Chloe and Other
Stories
The Long, Steep Path:
Everyday Inspiration from the Author of Pay It Forward
How to Be a Writer in the
E-Age: A Self-Help Guide
When You Were Older
Don’t Let Me Go
Jumpstart the World
Second Hand Heart
When I Found You
Diary of a Witness
The Day I Killed James
Chasing Windmills
The Year of My Miraculous
Reappearance
Love in the Present Tense
Becoming Chloe
Walter’s Purple Heart
Electric God/The Hardest
Part of Love
Pay It Forward
Earthquake Weather and
Other Stories
Funerals for Horses
About the author:
Catherine Ryan Hyde
is the author of 36 published books, and in the last six years alone, her books have reached well over three million readers. Her bestselling 1999 novel, Pay It Forward, was adapted into a major Warner Bros. motion picture, made the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults list, and has been translated into more than two dozen languages. More than 50 of Catherine’s short stories have been published in journals, and her short fiction has been cited in Best American Short Stories anthologies, received honorable mention in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest, earned a second-place win for the Tobias Wolff Award, and been nominated for the O’Henry Award and the Pushcart Prize.
Hyde is the founder and former president of the Pay It Forward Foundation. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.
is the author of 36 published books, and in the last six years alone, her books have reached well over three million readers. Her bestselling 1999 novel, Pay It Forward, was adapted into a major Warner Bros. motion picture, made the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults list, and has been translated into more than two dozen languages. More than 50 of Catherine’s short stories have been published in journals, and her short fiction has been cited in Best American Short Stories anthologies, received honorable mention in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest, earned a second-place win for the Tobias Wolff Award, and been nominated for the O’Henry Award and the Pushcart Prize.
Hyde is the founder and former president of the Pay It Forward Foundation. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.
I have heard so much buzz about this book and I just hopped over to Kindle Unlimited and downloaded my copy. I cannot wait to start reading this one. Thanks for sharing-g!
ReplyDeleteHey Thanks Cynthia, I have my copy too and audible just had a sale on Just After Midnight so I got that one too!
DeleteI reviewed this today on the blog. Five star all the way Debbie!
ReplyDeleteooh I'm so pushing this up the list Kim :)
DeleteThat sounds like a really good book. What an interesting premise.
ReplyDeleteI think all her premises are really different and cool Mary
DeleteWow she has written a lot of books, I have When You Were Older sitting on my bookshelf found at a book fair. Totally agree with Kimberly I loved this uplifting story, we all seem to be reviewing it this week!
ReplyDeleteOh can't wait to read all your reviews!
DeleteThis sounds like a heartwarming story about friendship and hope. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLindy@ A Bookish Escape
my pleasure
DeleteOh she has written so many :)
ReplyDeleteso many
DeleteYes! This sounds fabulous!
ReplyDelete