A review by mhinnen
Just a Regular Boy by Catherine Ryan Hyde

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Catherine Ryan Hyde has a gift for writing about quirky little boys with big hearts. Imagine being a child, taken off the grid by your father, and told that society has destroyed itself. With that context, what would it be like to re enter society three years later in the midst of a pandemic and when school shootings are so frequent they have become normal? 

Just a regular boy is about Remy - a child who others perceive as a wolf boy - except for by Anne who is yearning for a child to rescue. It’s a compelling story about trauma and relationships and how we adapt to the realities of a cruel world. The story explores Anne’s savior complex and the joys and challenges of fostering and adoption. It also exemplifies how easily US society tends to write off “difficult” people without considering what the underlying causes are. 

Hyde offers us a glimpse of the best of human nature and models some ideal ways we can respond to one another with compassion and healing. 

It’s a good story and I read it during a vacation day. 

#JustaRegularBoy #NetGalley