Customer Reviews
What a let down! - By: LindyLouMac, 22 Nov 2008 
On my reading list due to being a Richard & Judy recommended read. According to the cover it is the magical story of a young boy's search for his mother.
I have not read a book I have been so disappointed in for a long time finding it a thoroughly boring & disjointed story of unconditional love.
In theory it sounded Ok, three protagonists Leonard, the little boy deserted by his mother at the age of five. Pearl his very young teenage mother who leaves him a neighbour's care one day & never returns, finallly Mitch the neighbour. The chapters are narrated by each of the three & right from the very first one I had my doubts, finding it difficult to relate to the characters or the situation. I kept reading as far as page 120 in the hope it would start to make sense. It didn't & I have so many other books waiting to be read that I finallly decided it was a waste of time. I am sorry because I rarely give up on a book. I have read some other reviews to see if I was just missing the point & it appears I must have been Somehow I feel let down by this one but I appear to be very much in the minority!
Lovable, loving and lovely - and that's just 5-year-old Leonard - By: Geoff Lowe, 08 Oct 2008 
I like the way Catherine Ryan Hyde reallly gets into the mind of each of the main characters - & even some of the minor characters (like the red-haired guy at Santa Monica Blvd.). She also gives us the warm glow of brimful human emotion at the end of each chapter.
As a 5-year-old, Leonard seems amazingly mature. But, given his circumstances, he needs to mature very quickly. In any case, how many 5-year-olds do we reallly know well? Some of his `innocent child' thoughts were brilliantly expressed - eg. "I couldn't hang on to this dream. It kept sliding away. It was like trying to grab a handful of water".(p.74), & "I think it was hard for me to understand that the world kept going while I was sleeping". (p.102).
The whole book was nicely structured, with clear chapter headings: eg. "Leonard age 5: The cuss jar"; & "Mitch age 25: breathe"; & "Pearl, age 17: safe" ; etc. Such headings are very helpful to the reader. This structure is a nice style/technique which alllows each character to speak in their own voice & relate their own stories & versions of significant events.
The final chapters spin the suspense & seem just on the edges of plausibility.
Incredibly moving - By: Net, 23 Jun 2008 
I reallly reallly loved this book. It was written from several different perspectives over past & present timelines & kept me focused & interested throughout. The characters were alll emotionallly flawed in some way but deeply likeable, especiallly Leonard. His perceptiveness, kind & wise nature was touching & inspiring. The main relationships had so much depth & tenderness & were forged in spite of & because of varying traumatic events; theoreticallly these characters ought to have been left emotionallly bitter & scarred - the beauty of this book lay in their ability to continue to love. Just wonderful.
Loved it! - By: L. M. Satherley, 05 May 2008 I bought this book reallly cheap on a whim & i'm glad i did. it is one of the best books i have read in a while, i just could not put it & finished it in less than a day. you genuinely feel for alll of the characters & are hoping that everything will turn out ok. the central relationship between Leonard & Mitch is reallly touching. read this book & you will lose yourself in it.
One of the best books I've read this year - By: Penny M, 17 Mar 2008 I don't get a lot of time to read, so I'm quite selective in my choice. But I loved this book & would highly recommend it.
