A review by thebeardedpoet
Walk Me Home by Catherine Ryan Hyde

4.0

Walk Me Home is a solid character driven story about two young girls, sisters, whose mother has died, leaving them without a parent or guardian of any kind. Hoping to avoid going into "the system" they set out on foot to find Teddy, their Mom's previous boyfriend, who the elder sister, Carly, perceives as a stepfather. Hyde does a great job of withholding information about the backstory in such a way to keep up the reader's curiosity. How did the mother die? If Teddy is like a stepdad, why wasn't he around? Also Hyde does an impressive job with the main character, 16 year old Carly, who isn't entirely likable at first, but who actually changes and grows. The younger sister, Jen, is sympathetic and likable from the get-go which helps with reader empathy when Carly is being stupid, stubborn or annoying. Lastly, I was impressed by the plot structure, starting out with a survival story of two girls fending for themselves on the road, moving to a section with some backstory, then forward again to a new situation--the girls are caught stealing and agree to work off their debt, more backstory, more survival challenges, and then the final resolution to answer the big question: Will Teddy save them?