Review: Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Allie and Bea

by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 350

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Bea has barely been scraping by since her husband died. After falling for a telephone scam, she loses everything and is forced to abandon her trailer. With only two-thirds of a tank in her old van, she heads toward the Pacific Ocean with her cat—on a mission to reclaim what’s rightfully hers, even if it means making others pay for what she lost.

When fifteen-year-old Allie’s parents are jailed for tax fraud, she’s sent to a group home. But when her life is threatened by another resident, she knows she has to get out. She escapes only to find she has nowhere to go—until fate throws Allie in Bea’s path.

Reluctant to trust each other, much less become friends, the two warily make their way up the Pacific Coast. Yet as their hearts open to friendship and love from the strangers they meet on their journey, they find the courage to forge their own unique family—and begin to see an imperfect world with new eyes.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two people who are basically polar opposites end up in a car together with no plan and no agenda.  Bea has lost everything from a scam and decides to get in her van and drive away.  Allie has lost everything because of her parents and their issues, she "runs" into Bea and together they will repair each other and carve a new path.

I am not spoiling things by revealing this is a road trip book, it is the synopsis, but I guess I didn't read the synopsis before reading the book, I was pleasantly surprised.  I loved how these two characters ended up together and how they challenged each other.  It was different from the rest of the books I have read recently.  Be warned that once you start this one, it is hard to set down as each page has a new piece of their adventure.

I am a genuine fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde and although I have read quite a few of her books, I haven't read them all.  Have you read any?  Which book should I pick up next?

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Little Bird Publicity.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.