Leaving Blythe River: A Novel

Written by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Narrated by Will Ropp

From New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde comes an unforgettable story of courage and finding forgiveness in an unforgiving wilderness.

Seventeen-year-old Ethan Underwood is totally unprepared to search for his father in the Blythe River National Wilderness. Not only is he small, scrawny, and skittish but he’s barely speaking to the man after a traumatic betrayal. Yet when his father vanishes from their remote cabin and rangers abandon the rescue mission, suddenly it’s up to Ethan to keep looking. Angry or not, he’s his father’s only hope.

With the help of three locals—a fearless seventy-year-old widow, a pack guide, and a former actor with limited outdoor skills—he heads into the wild. The days that follow transform Ethan’s world. Hail, punishing sun, swollen rapids, and exhausting pain leave him wondering if he’s been fooled yet again: Is his father out here at all? As the situation grows increasingly dire, Ethan realizes this quest has become about more than finding his dad.

From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward comes a story of nature revealing human nature—the trickiest terrain. Navigating an unforgiving landscape, Ethan searches himself for the ability to forgive his father—if he finds him alive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: May 24, 2016
• ISBN: 9781511370790

Catherine Ryan Hyde

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of more than forty books and counting. An avid traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer, she shares her astrophotography with readers on her website. Her novel Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture, chosen by the American Library Association (ALA) for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than twenty-three languages for distribution in over thirty countries. Both Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow Book List, and Jumpstart the World was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards. Where We Belong won two Rainbow Awards in 2013, and The Language of Hoofbeats won a Rainbow Award in 2015. More than fifty of her short stories have been published in the Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, and many other journals; in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts; and in the bestselling anthology Dog Is My Copilot. Her stories have been honored by the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the Tobias Wolff Award and have been nominated for The Best American Short Stories, the O. Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Three have been cited in the annual The Best American Short Stories anthology. She is the founder and former president (2000–2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton. For more information, please visit the author at www.catherineryanhyde.com.

Reviews for Leaving Blythe River

[Dan Roy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story started out kind of slow, but I advise anyone that’s thinking about reading this to just read it and be patient. It gets better. At the end I thought it was a very good story.

[Ellen Hanes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another wonderful novel by this author. Every story is redeeming but none of them are tied up in perfect little bows, much like Life. The author makes me consider once again that unless I walk in someone else’s shoes for many miles it’s not wise to pass judgement. Love her writing!

[nyiper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am just never disappointed with anything written by Catherine Ryan Hyde. I am so happy to see that she has two more books coming out soon. I'm still trying to read everything she has already written....a perfect reading experience.

[larryerick · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Spoiler Alert! The cover picture for this book is a lie. The main character in this book does not cross a river so shallow his horse's hooves barely get wet. He does not ride alone. He does not even ride a horse. It is a stimulating picture though, isn't it? The book is very much the same. The various characters do not act like normal people. And the writing style is stimulating. The author strings together snippets of moments and interactions, out-of-context with other moments and with real life, and asks the reader to believe them on their face. It all flows together...unless you are more concerned with how life actually is. Sorry, I can't list all the ways she does this without actually spoiling the book for other readers. At some point in reading this, I imagined the author as some person stuck inside their home, restricted to looking out at passers-by, unable to hear them talking. Or watching TV with all foreign-language dialogue, unable to understand a word they were saying. And yet, every so often the author's TV would hiccup and show a few minutes of Academy Award-winning movies in her native language, leaving her with some "truth" but being forced to make up all the rest of the world around her from her own conjecture. In reading about the author, I found she is well-traveled. So that means she doesn't pay that much attention to the details of what she has been seeing, or she just doesn't care to tell the truth about the human condition to sell her books. My wife said she thought this book was aimed at much younger readers. If she meant it's aimed at teenagers who think you can get pregnant by kissing, then she may be right.

[labdaddy4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very enjoyable read - loved the setting - sounded like the Rockies ! The supporting cast of Sam and Jone were perfect. Ethan's transformation - at the novel's core - was heartwarming, humorous, sad, and uplifting all at the same time - an ideal contrast to his repulsive father.

[creighley_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ethan Underwood is totally unprepared to search for his less-than-perfect dad in the Blythe River wilderness. With the help of three heinous, a 70 year old woman, a pack guide, and an actor with limited survival experience, set out to try to find Ethan's father. The character, Ethan, is a realistic teenager filled with angst and soon to grow up really quickly.

[fictionzeal · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Happy belated Father’s Day! Not all of us have wonderful fathers. In fact, some people actually have pathetic fathers. Such was the case for seventeen year old Ethan Underwood. Ethan is enthralled with Jennifer, also seventeen, who works in his dad’s office. But, he and his mom’s trip to Peru was delayed and they walk in on his Dad … with Jennifer. The author skips over the sordid details when his dad was ‘caught’, but by assumption, we know his dad left and Ethan and his mother were on their own. When his mom receives word that his grandmother is ill, she has to leave Ethan to go take care of his grandfather. Ethan has no choice but to go stay with his father in a remote cabin within Blythe River National Wilderness.Living, even temporarily in Blythe River, is sharply contrasted to their home in New York. He has to learn to think about his dangerous surroundings … grizzly bears for instance. As he’s exploring, he comes to know two of their neighbors, Sam, a pack guide, and Jone, an eccentric seventy-year-old. His dad is still practically non-existent, taking off and running for fitness for many hours and about eighteen miles per day. But, his dad fails to return one day and the search is on. Then, the search is abandoned as the ranger and cops believe he just abandoned his son. Ethan keeps looking. He can’t live with himself if he doesn’t even try and his dad is actually out there in the wilderness, lost or injured.After a meandering start, the thrusters kicked in and the story became a fast-paced emotional roller coaster. This Blythe River is fictional, located about 100 miles south of Casper Wyoming and Yellowstone. The author’s use of subheadings was innovative. Many would reference the time-line to Ethan’s dad’s disappearance. For instance, chapter three’s subheading was “Three months before his father disappeared.” Catherine Ryan Hyde was also the author of the bestselling novel, Pay It Forward. The story is one that will stay with you as you watch Ethan mature and breakthrough from a teen worried about ‘teen things’ to a very responsible young man. Rating: 4 out of 5.

[jenniferlynn-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This has been my favorite book by Catherine Ryan Hyde so far. The book was not what I expected. I enjoyed every minute of it. I had to keep turning the page (or pressing the button on my Nook) to see if Ethan found his dad. The description of the scenery made you feel like you were right there with Ethan searching for his dad. Ethan's dad, Noah, may have been one of the worst characters. If I was Ethan I might have just left him on the mountain. I wondered what type of place Ethan was sent to with his dad, when the first lesson he gets is how to use bear spray and to never leave the house without it. When Jone shows up to claim her very fat cat from Ethan's house I had to laugh, because he thought the cat was a stray and was fat from all its fur. Fun book to read if you are up for an adventure in the wilderness.

[iadam-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received a free advance e-copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is an exciting read, the story of a young man left alone after the disappearance of his father and his metamorphosis from a boy into a gentle, kind, compassionate, and determined young man. Ethan is a very brave and determined young man who refuses to gives up despite the many obstacle he encounters in the search for his father. Ethan and his neighbors join together to search for his father who never returned after leaving for a run in the Blythe River National Wilderness. The park ranger and search parties have given up. Ethan is persistent and feels that he would never forgive himself if he didn’t at least try to do everything he could to find his father. The author’s descriptions make the reader feel as if he/she is taking part in the story. I could almost feel Ethan’s soreness and stiffness after the first day of riding. This is a very well written book with interesting and fully developed characters and an exciting plot. This is another great book by Catherine Ryan Hyde, a real keeper.