Life, loss, and puffins : a novel

Life, loss, and puffins A novel

Catherine Ryan Hyde

Book - 2024

"Freakishly smart. That's the unwelcome box Ru Evans is put into for life. After all, she taught herself euclidean geometry at age seven, has an eidetic memory, and is about to enter college at thirteen years old. Boarding at a house near campus 150 miles from home, Ru meets seventeen-year-old Gabriel, an outsider himself who, like Ru, has trouble making friends--until they form a fast sibling-like bond. Finding a relatable someone in the world to talk to is a first for both of them. But when Ru's mother dies and the threat of living with her miserable aunt looms, Ru hatches an escape. It's an impulsive road trip that takes Ru and Gabriel from California to Canada, where Ru can fulfill her ultimate dream: to see Atlantic... puffins in the glorious wild. Mile by mile, Ru discovers the joy of friendship, found family, dark night skies, and the aurora borealis, and she basks in going from being a smart person to just a person. Though she knows they'll be in trouble when they're caught, for the short time they are navigating twist by twist of an unknown road, the freedom is liberating, and she is living for what feels like the first time." --

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Subjects
Gifted children > Fiction.
Families > Fiction.
Parents > Death > Fiction.
Friendship > Fiction.
Domestic fiction.
Genres
Domestic fiction
Published
Seattle : Lake Union Publishing [2024]
Language
English
Main Author
Catherine Ryan Hyde (-)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
258 pages ; 23 cm
ISBN
9781662504419
9781662504433
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Young Ru is smarter than anyone else she knows, but she's not immune from feelings. Often isolated, bored, and frustrated by the continued novelty of her intelligence to others, she's going to start college at 13 and is hoping for a welcome change. But when her mother passes away, Ru is even more isolated than she thought. Accompanied by an unexpected friend, Gabriel, Ru sets off on a "college bucket list" trip. With lots of quick thinking and more than a little luck, Ru and Gabriel make it all the way to Canada's Northwest Territories, seeing the northern lights and finding a new appreciation for the complexity of the world. Hyde (A Different Kind of Gone, 2023) writes a deeply compelling novel about teenagers finding their way in the world, even if their paths look a bit different than usual. Fans of Ethan Joella's A Quiet Life, Mary Alice Monroe's The Summer Guests, and Hazel Prior's Ellie and the Harpmaker will appreciate Hyde's deft handling of Ru's complex gift and the novel's heartwarming, character-driven charm.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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