Say Goodbye for Now

Add a TRIPLE WOW to that! I am a fairly voratious reader of many genres. It takes something really special to gain my entire focus. No spoilers here, and I won't summarize the plot. If you are at all like me, you've already read the editor's summary, and now you want to know what other readers THINK. This is the first of Ms Hyde's books I have read,but it will not be the last. Her writing style flows like a calm river, supremely readable and enjoyable. Her character development and descriptions are in-depth and entirely believable, you can SEE these people, and I feel like I know them; and that I would easily recognize them if I were to encounter them..... anywhere. Even though I have a horrible memory when it comes to faces and the names that go with them! I LIKE these people, the main characters; and I DETEST the characters that the author has included who are narrow minded and judgemental. I have often wondered, myself, WHY it is that most people think it is their right to know all the private details of other peoples' lives.... I mean, knowing a lot about a politician might be important, but that is someone you are, ideally, trusting to represent you. I was initially attracted to the book because of the cover art. I didn't at first even notice the boys, I liked the dog. And HE is also a well developed character. In fact, the only real error I found in the book came when Dr Lucy was examining the injured animal that Pete brought to her. As a longtime breeder of show dogs, myself, I know that there are good and valid reasons beyond simple aesthetics for the removal of canine dewclaws. I ALSO know that only a VERY few breeds possess REAR dewclaws, and most that do have clauses in their AKC standard (description of the ideal specimen; standards are developed and written by each breed's parent National club; usually voted on by the entire membership, then approved and accepted by AKC) which require the dewclaws to be PRESENT, in dogs that are shown. So for "Prince" to have had rear dewclaws in the first place is unlikely, if he is husky, malamute, or shepherd crossed with wolf. And as wolf hybrids are NOT a recognized breed (by any Kennel Club I am familiar with), the animal's original human associates (particularly his breeder) would have removed his FRONT dewclaws, probably, because those are highly susceptible to injury in the adult animal: they are generally floppy, and easily hung up on fencing, which is likely to result in a very bloody mess. Removal in the adult animal can be challenging and difficult, especially because dogs WILL fuss at, lick, and chew on the foot post-op. AND IF a breeder is removing rear dewclaws (which can appear unexpectedly, in a litter, though I have never seen them in any of the breeds I and my 3 sisters and parents have been involved with, that covers almost 60'years), they would have removed the FRONT dewclaws, also. Other than that, which is really a small detail the average reader wouldn't notice (but any reputable breeder can't help noticing), the story flows really well. Another area I have personal experience with is parental abuse..... I actually FELT Pete's fear, and his determination and his defiance when ENOUGH became too much; I have been there. I know exactly what it feels like to be terrified of a father, and to tiptoe around him hoping he won't notice me THIS time. I know that moment when you just can't take any more, I was 16 when I experienced it; and I KNOW what it feels like to have a father lose it altogether and attempt murder; I believed Pete's story utterly because I have lived those experiences and those confused feelings. YOU will believe because it is really well written, so even though you hopefully cannot claim first hand knowledge, you will know Pete too, as you will know Lucy, Calvin, and Justin. The author doesn't just stereotype characters, she fleshes them out thoroughly. I recommend this book to any reader who enjoys truly good writing, and a story that is as relevant today as it is moving. If you believe interracial couples are wrong, you should move on.

I enjoyed this book. I really thought that this was going to be a book about a dog based on the cover. I obviously did not read the book's summary prior to starting this audiobook. There is a dog in the book but that dog is really not the main focus of the story. This was a story about race, love, and what really makes up a family. I am so glad that I stumbled upon this wonderful story. This book is told from two points of view. Dr. Lucy takes care of animals and the occasional human that comes to her for help. She lives a rather isolated life on her ranch and likes it that way. Pete is a 12 year old boy that happens upon a wounded dog laying on the side of the road and feels compelled to help. Pete finds help for the dog in Dr. Lucy and so much more. The characters in this book were wonderful and they all had their own complex story to tell. Dr. Lucy has been through a lot. The book is set in a time where people do not want to take a female doctor seriously so Lucy uses her skills to help animals. Pete has had a lot to deal with in his short life. Despite the way he is treated, he is still such a good kid and works hard to do what he feels is right. Justin and his father, Calvin, are new in town. The town has not been welcoming to them and has treated them poorly because of the fact that they are African American. I loved the way that the relationships between these characters developed. If the rest of the world would simply go away, these four people would be very happy. Pete and Justin have so much in common and I loved watching their friendship progress. Lucy goes from being alone most of the time to have a real connection to Pete, Justin, and Calvin. Everything about their interactions seemed natural and it made me very angry that the local citizens did everything they could to not allow any of the connections to exist. The narrators both did a great job with this story. I really do enjoy it when audiobooks utilize multiple narrators. Nick Podehl did a great job with Pete's point of view which was no small task since the character is a 12 year old boy. Teri Schnaubelt voices the parts that were told from Dr. Lucy's point of view. Both narrators were able to bring a lot of emotion into the story telling and were very pleasant to listen to for long periods of time. I would not hesitate to listen to either of these narrators again in the future. I would recommend this book to others. This was a very well told story that really care about the characters. This was the first book by Catherine Ryan Hyde that I have read but I wouldn't hesitate to read more of her work in the future.

I love her books. Their characters are well developed, and I feel as if I know them personally. This story line of Petey is heart breaking, then he grows to become a wonderful young man, and I was hard pressed to deny w/o Dr.Lucy he might have turned out to be just like this dad! A bitter old grouch. And the progress of Dr. Lucy from a bitter, meen heart broken woman to this loving woman who took in a stranger and raised him as her own! They changed each other. And hopeful people will see each other as human beings! Our genetics are our genetics, we have no control over that. You can’t help who you love and why should you have to justify how you feel.

When I finished Say Goodbye my first thought was what a great book this is. My second thought was surprise. I don't remember ever seeing a book that was rated entirely with five stars. The book deserves this rating. It's themes were interesting and well supported. The characters showed intense feelings that were appropriate to the circumstances. I know I can count on Catherine Ryan Hyde giving me hours of reading pleasure. The basic theme explored in this book is good versus evil. The setting is Texas 1959 and segregation is the norm. Interracial marriage is forbidden. Dr Lucy is a medical doctor who cares for injured and abandoned animals and the occasional criminal to help pay for the animals she saves. She's a prickly sort of person who prefers the company of animals to people. Pete is young boy on his way to go fishing when he discovers an injured dog off the side of the road. It's a big dog and his back leg looks wrong. The problem is how to transport him to the doc. He remembers an old wagon in his garage that might just work. He feels a bond with this dog and doesn't want to leave him but knows he must. When he returns, Pete is able to maneuver the animal into the wagon and heads out to the doc. Justin, who has just moved into the area, sees Pete and the dog and asks if he can walk along with them. As they walk, they get to know one another. It seems they might be friends. Pete's dad doesn't agree. He tells Pete to keep to his own kind (white people) and whips him so hard with the belt he draws blood. I really like Pete. He has a way about himself that is honest and straightforward. It's amazing that he was able to survive growing up with a father who is so brutal. It gets so bad for him that he winds up living with Miss Lucy when his dad disowns him and tells him to never come back. There is so much going on in this story, I can't really do it justice in a review. If you like a story that is compelling and really grabs you right from the beginning and doesn't let go to the very end, read this book now. It is well worth the time it takes to read

What a wonderful story!! After finishing the book, I couldn't stop thinking about it. The setting starts in 1959 when interracial marriage were unacceptable as were any relationship between blacks and whites. The story includes a wolf-dog who is injured which leads Pete to Dr. Lucy. The books moves on until 1967 when everything changes. The relationship between Pete who is white, Justin who is black. Justin's Dad Calvin, Dr. Lucy who it white, and Prince the wolf-dog is incredible. A deeply moving story!

Say Goodbye for Now was the first Catherine Ryan Hyde novels I read, and I’ve since read nearly ten others. This story made a great impression on me, and I was taken in by her simple yet meaningful writing style. I’ve since learned that this style isn’t limited to this one novel, and that in every book, the characters vacillate between being unable to stop talking and speaking in short, choppy words, like “Oh. Right. Well.” In all her novels, children and vulnerable adults suffer from deep insecurities and act surprised and unsure when they come across real kindness. They often worry that their incessant talking will cause the listener to fly into a rage, or that if they ask for too much or wear out their welcome, they’ll get yelled at or beaten. It’s very sad, and you do come across such characters in real life who have been severely abused. If these types of characters and dialogue really speak to you, you’ll love her books. There are two plotlines in this story: one involves a boy’s loyalty to a wounded dog, and the other is an interracial relationship in the Deep South during the late 1950s. I was far more interested in the dog, which takes precedence in the first half of the film. I loved the opening chapters, and I was immediately sucked in by how the boy came across the wounded dog on the outskirts of the freeway, and how he coaxed him to trust that he was going to help him. He dragged the dog in a wagon for miles until he found a veterinarian who would treat the case, and the relationship between the boy and the stray was very touching. The veterinarian, a no-nonsense, independent woman came across as cold at times, but she just had more experience with animals than people. One of my favorite Hyde books, I’d recommend it if you have a soft spot for animals, or if you can imagine helping a wounded dog. I was the perfect reader for this book, since I’ve been known to carry around a plastic bag of cat food when I go walking in case I run into a homeless stray.

Not an easy book to read but it is excellent. Lots of heart ache. I'm sure this story has happened many times in real life.

My entire weekend went into this book. BEST. WEEKEND. EVER. I love the way that the author told a real story without making it ok for the heinous tragedies that occurred simply because the times allowed it, because people were ignorant, because 2 boys were friends but were of different color. I love the instant connection she made between Calvin and Lucy. I love that race never really played a part in the life of these 4 people, except for how the outside world chose to see them and treat them for it. I hated the accusing cop who showed up on Lucy's door. For these 4 people, it was never about race, or color, or anything else. It was about love, loyalty and family, but above all it was about always doing the right thing, no matter the cost. Pete was the boy who always stood on the right side of things, hard as though they were, but he never took the road most traveled, and while standing up to his father for Justin's assault was quite dangerous, he was willing to take whatever came because it was the right thing to do. Pete had such an amazing heart for people and animals, and maybe he wasn't the smartest but his kind of smarts were from the heart. You cant teach that kind of strength, determination and loyalty. I love that Justin never let the beating of ignorant white men cloud his view of the world, he never let it cloud his friendship with Pete, he never let it cloud how he saw Lucy. Justin saw the world as it could be not as it was and he was a priceless child for it. Calvin was a man who did not let the atrocities in life make him bitter. Was he angry about what happened to his son? Of course, what father wouldn't be. But he didn't let his anger best him, he didn't let it eat him alive, he took things in stride and was the better man for it. I love that he never blamed Pete for what happened to Justin. A lesser man would've. Lucy was angry, bitter and alone. I think she was scared of experiencing more hurt than life had already given her and so she closed herself off from the world. She took care of her land and her animals and she was content. In a way. But the best thing that could've happen to good old Dr. Lucy was having Pete show up at her door, and then Justin, and then Calvin. And all because Pete had the sense to do what needed to be done to take care of a dog that was injured off the side of the road. That simple gesture of kindness started us on the path that took us through 8 yrs of love, tears, patience, doubt and hurt and in the end Lucy ended up having a family like she never dreamed she would. Those 3 "strangers" showing up on her door were the best thing that had ever happened to her. They melted the ice that the world had placed around her heart, they earned a place in her life, in her heart and the 4 of them earned a place in mine. I didn't do much this weekend but read. I am SO glad I read THIS book.

I truly enjoyed this book as the author kept the situations authentic and on the edge. I read it all day so that I might find out how it ended, wanting a happy ending and not knowing if it could possibly be. It also talked about the best and worst of human nature and forced me to think about how I might react in certain circumstances.

I loved this book. The story is captivating and grips the reader from the first chapter. The writing-style is relaxed and the characters beautifully depicted. No awkward dialogue or clumsy descriptions - this author (who I didn't know) is mistress of her craft. This is a must-read !

I am at a loss for words with respect to this fabulous author and this is the 2nd novel I have purchased for my Kindle. Catherine R Hyde has the most effective style of writing through a simple poignancy and heart rendering emotion. She doesn't get caught up in a complicated mass of verbosity. The story-lines are simple and yet portray controversial and delicate issues with such depth of emotion...and yet without having to exhaust the reader with too many words. She's a must read...and this book is an amazing one!!

Running from a tragic past, Dr Lucy Armstrong leads a solitary life on an isolated ranch in Texas. Unfortunately it’s 1959 and the townsfolk have no interest in a lady doctor so Lucy chooses to utilise her skills in caring for abandoned animals instead. The townsfolk are even less welcoming of the newly arrived African American, Calvin Bell and his son, Justin. When Pete Solomon, a neglected twelve-year-old boy finds a wounded wolf-dog hybrid on the side of the road, he is told to take him to the reclusive Dr Lucy, who cares for stray animals. On the way he meets and strikes up a conversation with Justin, who shares his concern for the dog. This tentative friendship leads to a violent confrontation later between Pete and his abusive and racist father who warns him to stay away from Justin, something that Pete, doesn’t have the heart to do when he see Justin again. The following day, after being spotted walking together by one of his father’s vindictive friends, Pete finds Justin barely conscious on the side of the road after being beaten and left for dead by a group of men. Pete takes Justin to Dr Lucy’s house, an act which sets off a series of events that will change their lives forever. Say Goodbye For Now is my fourth book by the author which sees her tackling the difficult subject of racial prejudice in the late 1950’s. Once again she manages to bring together a unique cast of characters that sneak into your heart and entreat your senses to read on. The chapters alternate between Pete and Lucy’s point of view and is divided into three parts that spans a period of eight years. Taking place in rural Texas between 1959 to 1967, the author beautifully brings together a disparate group of people who find love, healing and acceptance as they struggle with hate and prejudice in a small community. Lucy is an eccentric, strong and outspoken woman. Life’s many disappointments and people in general have left her somewhat jaded, cynical and closed off from forming new attachments. In spite of herself however, she finds herself opening up to Pete, Justin and Calvin. Unfortunately in 1959, it was not widely accepted for a white woman to befriend an African American man and the townsfolk waste no time in making their displeasure known. Pete is an endearing, sensitive compassionate boy who frequently finds himself the focus of his father’s wrath, more so since he has been laid off from work following an injury. I found the scenes where Pete’s father beat him particularly hard to read - his fear coupled with his father’s anger were palpable. Like Leonard, in Love in the Present Tense, Pete tugged at my heartstrings from the offset. I found myself sobbing uncontrollably at his plight and completely forgetting that this was just a book. So real were these characters for me. In contrast to Pete’s loveless and volatile relationship with his father, we have the deep bond shared by Justin and his father Calvin, especially since the death of Justin’s mother several years ago. As villains go, Pete’s father is a particularly nasty antagonist, whose relationship with Pete deteriorates throughout the course of the book. While this is mainly due to the father’s own inadequacies, it is further inflamed by Pete’s friendship with Justin, which ultimately leads him to commit a despicable act. The author has taken on a difficult topic (that is as relevant today as it was in the Civil Rights era) with dignity, grace and candour. Racial tensions in the 1950’s and 1960’s in the South frequently ran high, and Hyde realistically portrays the difficulties faced by interracial couples during a time of miscegenation when couples faced violence and persecution before a change in the law and and cultural attitudes finally caught up with them. Reference is given to the Supreme Court ruling Loving vs. Virginia case which remains a timely story even in today’s world of racial injustice and violence. This was a tense and compelling read that I had a hard time putting down. My only criticism was over the ending which seemed a tad rushed or perhaps it was simply because I was reluctant to say goodbye to Pete & Co which is always the case with Ms Hyde’s characters. Despite many aspects that will tug at the readers heartstrings, it’s important to note that this book contains several dark themes consisting of child abuse, violence, racial tensions, injustice, interracial relationships, miscegenation, civil rights, segregation, sexism etc

This is the second book I have read by this author , and I intend to read others. The camaraderie between the characters of the novel makes it a soothing read.