Catherine Ryan Hyde Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Picture Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Catherine Ryan Hyde is an American author born in 1955. Hyde has found success both as a novelist and short story writer in the U.S and the U.K, winning numerous honors and awards in the process.

+Biography

Catherine Ryan Hyde spent her earliest days in Buffalo, New York. Born in a family of writers, she also spent some time in New York City, and the city’s influences can be seen in many of her stories.

Hyde’s journey into the literary arena can be imputed to the efforts of Lenny Horowitz, her favorite teacher who died of liver cancer. Graduating at age 17 from high school, Hyde experimented with a number of jobs, this including dog trainer and tour guide at Hearst Castle before eventually deciding to inject all her efforts into becoming a full-time writer.

This was in the early 1980s.

As an aspiring author, Catherine Ryan Hyde racked up an impressive 122 rejections before getting her big break. For Hyde, initial success came from her short stories.

This was before she finally wrote and published Funeral for Horses’. While Funeral for Horses was her first published novel, the first novel she ever wrote was Walter’s Purple Heart’.

It wasn’t until she wrote Pay it Forward’ that Hyde experienced the success she had been craving in 1999, the book quickly becoming a bestseller. The concept of the book came to Catherine when two total strangers offered her assistance after her car caught fire in a bad neighborhood.

People that have not read Catherine Ryan Hyde’s work might know her from The Bet’, an annual wager that authors make on the Kentucky derby, with the winners picking a creative title for the losers to write a story around.

When Hyde isn’t writing, she pursues her photography, an activity she is very passionate about. Hyde normally takes pictures of the wildlife in and around Cambria. She has also posted pictures taken during her many travels.

A number of her photographs, including those of curious cloud formations, sunsets and wildflowers are included in a special book of photographs called 365 Days of Gratitude’.

Catherine Ryan Hyde’s mark on the literary doesn’t merely manifest in the books she writes. The author also teaches workshops. The founder of the Pay it Forward Foundation, some of Hyde’s activities outside the arts include public speaking.

Catherine Ryan Hyde’s work has a loyal following. Her books explore the ordinary lives of ordinary people and they tend to take an optimistic perspective. Many of the characters she writes start out down-on-their-luck, sometimes recovering from past tragedies and abuses.

Since the success of Pay it Forward, Hyde has written numerous other novels, though that hasn’t prevented her from pursuing her love for short stories. She has also dabbled in the Young Adult Genre.

Catherine has been described as a very interview-accessible author, always willing to make appearances on different mediums to discuss her books and explore topics about writing and publishing.

The novelist’s first successful novel, Pay it Forward, was adapted into a movie in 2000 (Starring Kevin Costner and Helen Hunt).

+Pay It Forward

Trevor McKinney is a 12-year-old boy living in a small California town. Trevor’s teacher gives his class a unique challenge with which he could earn a little extra credit. He must come up with a plan for making the world better, and put that plan into action.

Trevor’s answer to the challenge is the Pay It Forward’ scheme, a plan so simple those that hear about it choose to dismiss it as naïve. The response elicits doubt in Trevor’s heart, especially when he encounters bad luck and the worst parts of human nature in his efforts to put the plan into action.

In this Catherine Ryan Hyde book, what you have is a story about a boy making ordinary people do the extraordinary because of the faith he displays.

Pay It Forward is a moving story. Most people who have read the novel will admit to being moved by its heartwarming nature. You can see the wheels spinning in Catherine Ryan Hyde’s head as you read this book, the manner in which she agonized over the story’s structure and the way the different dominos would fall into place to deliver the message at the heart of the book.

Admittedly, Pay It Forward falls into the sappy’ category of stories. No one could ever accuse the book of being unpredictable or particularly surprising. However, Hyde doesn’t need twists, turns, and surprises in order to deliver the gut punch of her story.

Pay It Forward works because of its perspective, the innocent and naïve little boy through whom readers view the world, coming to understand the ease with which a little kindness could transform life.

+When I Found You

Nathan McCann discovers a newborn baby in the woods. He thinks it’s dead, but then it starts to move, changing Nathan’s life in the process.

When the baby is sent to his grandmother, Nathan finds that he cannot forget about him. He eventually decides to pay her a visit. During the visit, his only request to the old lady is that she introduces Nathan to the boy as the man that found him in the woods when he is old enough.

Years later, certain that the old woman didn’t keep her promise, Nathan is shocked when a hungry, troubled boy shows up at his doorstep.

As with most of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s work, there is a clear message in this book; and that is the fact that taking care of a child requires complete and unwavering commitment, this regardless of all the times they infuriate and emotionally hurt you.

Nathan, the protagonist of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s book, is the embodiment of a surrogate parent that every adoption agency looks for, especially when they are finding homes for abused or neglected children. Watching the relationship between Nathan and young Nat grow is definitely the highlight of the novel as a whole.

Hyde shows a surprising amount of insight into the process that children who have experienced loss undergo. This story, about a young boy and his rescuer, is well written and easy to read, even in a distraction-heavy environment. The message it delivers, while hardly sublte, never feels overbearing, largely because of Hyde’s expert approach to writing.

4 Responses to “Catherine Ryan Hyde”

1. Eileen A Brown: 2 years ago

   Is there a sequel to, “Seven Perfect Things”?

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     Not at this time.

     Reply
2. Patsy Longfield: 2 years ago

   I would like a list of books published by Catherine Ryan Hyde…

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     That’s what the list above is.

     Reply