LIFE, LOSS AND PUFFINS
Catherine Ryan Hyde
Lake Union Publishing
May14, 2024
269 pages
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Catherine Ryan Hyde is an automatic read for me. I’m always excited to see a new book from her.
With this book, we experience life with Ru (short for Rumaki!!!) a 13 year old girl with an eidetic memory. Her mother has labelled her as “freakishly smart”. Ru is a character who is easy to draw into your heart. While she is factually smart, she is innocent of life experiences.
Her sidekick is Gabriel, a 17 year old boy who identifies as non-binary. Ru and Gabriel have an instant connection. They have total acceptance of each other as they embark on the journey of their lives. Their relationship is pure friendship. It is very unique.
I really enjoyed how this story develops. It probably borders on not being very realistic but that doesn’t bother me. I read for enjoyment and entertainment. Both of these expectations are satisfied in the story. I learned from the story, about stars, about the Northern Lights, about spending time up by the Arctic Circle.
The story was well-written, the characters were well developed, their adventure was well documented. I finished the book with a warm and fuzzy feeling. Just what I expected.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
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