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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
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I am a fan of her books, the characters are well developed and always has a lot of emotional depth. This one is a coming of age YA story surrounding loss and friendship.
I had the audiobook read by Jess Nakihian, a suitably young voice, but a bit manic sounding. I couldnāt find a suitable speed to adjust too. It was either too fast or too slow for me. It eventually settles. She has a good range of voices I found her voice for Gabriel was ok.
Ru Evans is freakishly smart, attending college at 13 years of age. She is leaving away from home, struggling to make friends until she meets fellow outsider 17 year old Gabriel. When RUās mom
dies and she is left with the prospect of living with her Aunt Ru and Gabriel take an impulsive road trip.
The story is told from RUās POV she seems to be relating her story to some girls ( they are identified at the end). Oh my the main character isnāt at all likeable, i found her very abrupt, blunt and standoffish, itās not stated but it feel that she is on the neurodivergent spectrum. I found her attitude very irritating, Gabriel who identifies as non-binary was more likeable.
The Aunt is chiselled from the same block as Ru.
Iāve loved several books but this author, but this one didnāt grab me, her characterisation is excellent and I can usually really connect, but I couldnāt connect with this book.
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Life, Loss, and Puffins by Catherine Ryan Hyde and narrated by Jess Nahikian is simply beautiful, a wonderful coming of age (ahead of time) story, loss, grief, wonder and discovery. The story is full of wonderful characters, Ru and gabriel, the protagonists and especially Earl from Montana and Gladys and her family and friends in Yellowtail
I am getting ahead of myself however, but that is just how much I have enjoyed this audiobook.
Jess Nahikian applies great character, heart and personality to each and every character. Diverse, mellow, full of good humour or gritty, Nahikian is brilliant
Ru Evans has an insanely high IQ, always curious, thoughtful and observant, a bright and lively personality. She gets a scholarship to go to college at the age of 13 and the opportunity to lodge with a Mother and her son off campus. Ru's mother is initially reluctant, but one day, suddenly changes her mind and takes Ru to meet her host
The son of the house, Gabriel, is non-binary, wears makeup quiet and intelligent, 17 years old. Ru asks him why he had to take his makeup of when the families met, and why he was not his true self and over this, the quickly bond, like brother and sister. They talk into the night through the paper-thin walls
Ru is supposed to visit her mother every weekend, but she keeps cancelling. By the seventh week, Ru asks Gabriel to help her go home to visit her mother. Ru's aunt answers the door. This marks a series of events, including having to go and live with her aunt in Kentucky which is Ru's worst nightmare, she cannot face being separated from her brother by proxy, Gabriel.
This gives Ru the inspiration to go north, far north from their home in California. To go to Canada, to see the northern lights, and, hopefully, the bird they shared a great love of, puffins. However, the road trip gives them experience after experience, each one beautifully described, philosophical, insightful, empathetic. The description of the wolf, the woman in the dream and the aurora borealis were simply gorgeous. The narrative of shared silence was meditative and reflective
My heart, oh my aching heart. I laughed, I cried, I felt every cadence of the narrative. Life, Loss and Puffins is a great listen, I was utterly gripped from start to finish
I cannot recommend this enough
Thank you to Netgalley, Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio, the author Catherine Ryan Hyde and narrator Jess Nahikian for this amazing audiobook. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own
I am getting ahead of myself however, but that is just how much I have enjoyed this audiobook.
Jess Nahikian applies great character, heart and personality to each and every character. Diverse, mellow, full of good humour or gritty, Nahikian is brilliant
Ru Evans has an insanely high IQ, always curious, thoughtful and observant, a bright and lively personality. She gets a scholarship to go to college at the age of 13 and the opportunity to lodge with a Mother and her son off campus. Ru's mother is initially reluctant, but one day, suddenly changes her mind and takes Ru to meet her host
The son of the house, Gabriel, is non-binary, wears makeup quiet and intelligent, 17 years old. Ru asks him why he had to take his makeup of when the families met, and why he was not his true self and over this, the quickly bond, like brother and sister. They talk into the night through the paper-thin walls
Ru is supposed to visit her mother every weekend, but she keeps cancelling. By the seventh week, Ru asks Gabriel to help her go home to visit her mother. Ru's aunt answers the door. This marks a series of events, including having to go and live with her aunt in Kentucky which is Ru's worst nightmare, she cannot face being separated from her brother by proxy, Gabriel.
This gives Ru the inspiration to go north, far north from their home in California. To go to Canada, to see the northern lights, and, hopefully, the bird they shared a great love of, puffins. However, the road trip gives them experience after experience, each one beautifully described, philosophical, insightful, empathetic. The description of the wolf, the woman in the dream and the aurora borealis were simply gorgeous. The narrative of shared silence was meditative and reflective
My heart, oh my aching heart. I laughed, I cried, I felt every cadence of the narrative. Life, Loss and Puffins is a great listen, I was utterly gripped from start to finish
I cannot recommend this enough
Thank you to Netgalley, Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio, the author Catherine Ryan Hyde and narrator Jess Nahikian for this amazing audiobook. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own
A heartwarming read, I loved the relationship between Ru and Gabriel and the story of their road trip. It did feel a little like the middle bit of Ru's story was missing though.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.
One of my faves from Catherine Ryan Hyde yet!
I loved this one for a few reasons and honestly my fave? It was interesting, it was heartwarming, it was different and I felt really interested. The most important of all? I didnāt want to bawl my eyes out! I love CRH books but they always move me so deeply and Iām not always in a mood to cry!
The characters in this one, Rue (loved the story about her name!), Gabriel and all the adults were just so good. So well developed even if they were minor players. I felt like I understood them and why they were important to the story. I loved how they moved the story along, which is important, considering Rue was a child.
Despite the fact that the story was about a child, it didnāt feel like it. (I mean, if you thought about it, there were a lot of logical things that made you think of the narrator as a child.) Except the hopefulness, the wonder, the acceptance, etc. However, it was refreshing and I can always use more of that.
Advance reader copy thanks to NetGalley + Brilliance Audio but all opinions are my own.
I loved this one for a few reasons and honestly my fave? It was interesting, it was heartwarming, it was different and I felt really interested. The most important of all? I didnāt want to bawl my eyes out! I love CRH books but they always move me so deeply and Iām not always in a mood to cry!
The characters in this one, Rue (loved the story about her name!), Gabriel and all the adults were just so good. So well developed even if they were minor players. I felt like I understood them and why they were important to the story. I loved how they moved the story along, which is important, considering Rue was a child.
Despite the fact that the story was about a child, it didnāt feel like it. (I mean, if you thought about it, there were a lot of logical things that made you think of the narrator as a child.) Except the hopefulness, the wonder, the acceptance, etc. However, it was refreshing and I can always use more of that.
Advance reader copy thanks to NetGalley + Brilliance Audio but all opinions are my own.
emotional
medium-paced
This story would maybe be believable in the 1950s but in 2024 there is no way a 13 year old and a 17 year old with no parental supervision would have gone on this adventure. If anything the police would have been called on the male character for kidnapping her.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm a Catherine Ryan Hyde superfan and have read almost all of her books, so it is no surprise that I enjoyed Life, Loss, and Puffins. This is essentially a road trip adventure with some twists. I enjoyed the unique destinationāthe Northwest Territories in Canada. I dream of driving the Dempster Highway covered in the book, so this was a fun surprise as I read it. This novel will spark your wanderlust if you are a serious road-tripper and yearning to see the Aurora Borealis.
If you are already a CRH fan, note that this book feels a bit lighter than some of her fare. The friendship between the two main protagonists was refreshing in that it was just a friendship with no underlying motives. I also like that CRH included some personal bits in this book. From her bio, she states that she is an amateur astronomer and photographer, and she shares that love in this book.
This book was a fast read and would appeal to youth or adults.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for a book review.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Finished reading: April 18th 2024
"It's funny how bleak the world looks on an empty stomach, and how benign that same view can appear after a big meal."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
It's been less than two years since I finally discovered Catherine Ryan Hyde's books, but every single one I've read has been excellent so far. I also love a travel element in my stories, so of course I was immediately intrigued by the premise of Life, Loss, And Puffins. And can we all agree with the main characters just how adorable puffins are? Anyhow, I've been looking forward to start this book, and as expected I ended up having such a wonderful time following Ru and Gabriel on their journey!
One of the elements I loved most in Life, Loss, And Puffins most definitely is all the travel/road trip. Is it credible for two minors to actually make it all the way to Canada? Not exactly. But it sure made for such a fascinating story, and I loved following Ru and Gabriel as they make their way north. The road trip was also such a great way to meet new characters along the way, and it was fun to see how they popped up just at the right time and seem to be part of Ru and Gabriel's coming of age story. The part that stood out most for me were the chapters set in Canada, which had such glorious descriptions that really made the setting come alive for me. I could almost feel the cold and snow!
There is no doubt that Life, Loss, And Puffins is quite a sad and emotional book, although there are also many moments of hope, found family and a beautiful friendship. As a whole I felt that the plot was well balanced, and I really enjoyed how everything was wrapped up in the end. This book also tackles quite a few heavier topics including cancer, death, grief, toxic relationships and transphobia (non binary). They are all well incorporated into the plot, and I could appreciate what they added to the story.
As for the characters... It is so easy to warm up to both Ru and Gabriel, and I had a fantastic time following them on their journey. It's such a beautiful budding friendship, and I love how their growing connection is also represented in the progress of their journey north. The aunt was a bit too much like the stereotypical 'bad guy', but most of the rest of the cast was wonderful as well. The writing itself is extremely engaging and beautifully put together, and I literally flew through Life, Loss, And Puffins.
If you enjoy well written, emotional and well balanced contemporaries about found family, friendship and grief as well as a road trip angle, I can highly recommend this book. Life, Loss, And Puffins is definitely among my favorite stories written by her so far!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment
I like Hyde; sheās a really great writer and storyteller. Iāve really enjoyed all seven of the books of hers that I have read so far. This one was no exception to that rule. I loved Ru, from the get-go. I have a couple of people in my family who are neurodivergent and one of the characteristics that I love about them is their honest reactions and feelings about the things they experience in life. Some might call it brutal honesty, to a fault, but I donāt see it that way. Itās been my experience, at least with my neurodivergent relatives, theyāre reactions and opinions arenāt meant to be cruel or hurtful, they seem to come from a place of just plain and simple honesty and a need to be transparent and maybe even helpful in the way a teacher would be in an exchange of facts and opinions with a student. On that note, I have learned a lot from them.
Anyway, I found Ru endearing and during their travels, Ru and Gabriel tell people that Ru is 22yrs old because Ru definitely comes across as so much more intelligent and wiser than her 13yrs (she looks like a typical 13yr old). Gabriel is a 17yr old boy who likes to wear nail polish and make-up and is a kid who is obviously experimenting with his own gender identity and place in the world. Sometimes I think that the neurodivergent and/or nonbinary youth today are somewhat better off in their efforts to live authentically, then when I was a teenager (late 70ās early 80ās). Other times, I realize they face the same old biased, judgmental crap that has always been there for anyone who isnāt neurotypical and/or cisgender. Kind of sad and something that will probably not change in my lifetime, but something I hope for the future generations. This story depicts that while Ru accepts Gabriel for who he is, that isnāt always the response Gabriel gets from others.
The book summary pretty much lays out the first half of the story, so Iām not going to repeat any of that here. What the book summary doesnāt really mention much of is that Ruās āescapeā is actually Ru and Gabriel running away in the dead of night. On the road, they develop a ācollege listā, which is just basically a ābucket listā. From the get-go, Ru and Gabriel just click and begin developing a bond (kind of a sibling bond) as they clear a few bucket list items. This special relationship will also see them through some coming-of-age moments and their efforts to become the kind of people they want to be in spite of what their mothers and other adults in their life want for them.
At 269pgs, the end comes pretty fast and it was a little bit of a tearjerker for me. Quite a few of CRHās books have had that effect on me. The character development of Ru and Gabriel was fleshed out pretty well. It would have been nice to know just a little more about their mothers as well as Aunt Bitsy. The pacing seemed really good too. The storyline and CRH writing were wonderful. Iām looking at an overall rating of 4.43 that Iām going to round up to a 4.5star rating. I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #LakeUnionPublishing #LifeLossandPuffins
Anyway, I found Ru endearing and during their travels, Ru and Gabriel tell people that Ru is 22yrs old because Ru definitely comes across as so much more intelligent and wiser than her 13yrs (she looks like a typical 13yr old). Gabriel is a 17yr old boy who likes to wear nail polish and make-up and is a kid who is obviously experimenting with his own gender identity and place in the world. Sometimes I think that the neurodivergent and/or nonbinary youth today are somewhat better off in their efforts to live authentically, then when I was a teenager (late 70ās early 80ās). Other times, I realize they face the same old biased, judgmental crap that has always been there for anyone who isnāt neurotypical and/or cisgender. Kind of sad and something that will probably not change in my lifetime, but something I hope for the future generations. This story depicts that while Ru accepts Gabriel for who he is, that isnāt always the response Gabriel gets from others.
The book summary pretty much lays out the first half of the story, so Iām not going to repeat any of that here. What the book summary doesnāt really mention much of is that Ruās āescapeā is actually Ru and Gabriel running away in the dead of night. On the road, they develop a ācollege listā, which is just basically a ābucket listā. From the get-go, Ru and Gabriel just click and begin developing a bond (kind of a sibling bond) as they clear a few bucket list items. This special relationship will also see them through some coming-of-age moments and their efforts to become the kind of people they want to be in spite of what their mothers and other adults in their life want for them.
At 269pgs, the end comes pretty fast and it was a little bit of a tearjerker for me. Quite a few of CRHās books have had that effect on me. The character development of Ru and Gabriel was fleshed out pretty well. It would have been nice to know just a little more about their mothers as well as Aunt Bitsy. The pacing seemed really good too. The storyline and CRH writing were wonderful. Iām looking at an overall rating of 4.43 that Iām going to round up to a 4.5star rating. I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #LakeUnionPublishing #LifeLossandPuffins
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I went into this book blind, and Iām so glad I did. Ru is an intellectually gifted 13 year old who billets with 17 year old Gabriel and his mother when she starts university. Following a reflective conversation with her lecturer, and the unexpected passing of her mother, Ru runs away with Gabriel to complete her ācollege listā road trip.
I found the unique narrative style a little off putting at first, but quickly fell into the rhythm, which provided a compelling insight into Ruās thoughts and experiences. I loved the gentle commentary on friendship, loss, identity and maternal relationships, set against the backdrop of a road trip through the USA and Canada. The author has a beautiful way of describing characters and settings in a way that quickly immerses you in the story. I read this in a single sitting, and Iām looking forward to delving into Catherine Ryan Hydeās other books.
Thank you Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book.