Don't Let Me Go

By: Catherine Ryan Hyde

Narrated by: Chris Chappell, Cassandra Morris

Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

Former Broadway dancer and current agoraphobic Billy Shine has not set foot outside his apartment in almost a decade. He has glimpsed his neighbors--beautiful manicurist Rayleen, lonely old Ms. Hinman, bigoted and angry Mr. Lafferty, kind-hearted Felipe, and nine-year-old Grace and her former addict mother, Eileen. But most of them have never seen Billy. Not until Grace begins to sit outside on the building's front stoop for hours every day, inches from Billy's patio. Troubled by this change in the natural order, Billy makes it far enough out onto his porch to ask Grace why she doesn't sit inside, where it's safe. Her answer: "If I sit inside, then nobody will know I'm in trouble. And then nobody will help me." Her answer changes everything.

By the best-selling author of When You Were Older and Pay It Forward, Don't Let Me Go is the heartbreaking, funny, and life-affirming story of a building full of loners and misfits who come together to help a little girl survive--and thrive--against all odds.

©2012 Catherine Ryan Hyde (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic Reviews

"An excellent read." ( New Books Review)

"Original and wonderful." ( The Sun)

"Catherine Ryan Hyde at her utter best." ( ChickLit Reviews)

Inspirational and humbling and awesome.

This is the first review I have written. I'm usually in a hurry to get to the next project I must do, but this time I felt I must say something in the hopes that I may inspire someone, anyone to listen to or read this wonder book. Ms. Hyde has given us a beautiful glimpse into the power of humanity. The characters are so vividly portrayed and delightful in their differences. She so artfully shows how simple it can be to make a difference in the story of another's lives. How one person can truly unite many and that that although people are able to stand alone, they are at their greatest and happiest when standing ( or leaning) on another. I loved this story so much. It is humbling in its simplistic beauty. The simple message it imparts and the power with which the message resonates. Reach out. Take the time. Open the door. Ask if one needs help. Extend a hand. Have patience. Celebrate or at the very least, except one's quirks and differences. I am so happy I found this story and I know it will stay with me a very long time and I feel changed by it. Thank you for the opportunity to give my opinion.

113 of 114 people found this review helpful

So sweet

Finished it a week ago and still miss all the characters....initially I didn't think I cared for the story. Rediscovered first impressions can be dead wrong! Another 5 or 10 hours would have only made me happier!

29 of 29 people found this review helpful

Fell in love with this book.

This book did an amazing job of delving into the lives of the characters. It was almost impossible to not relate with every single one. This was my first read by Hyde, but I plan to read more!

28 of 29 people found this review helpful

Over A Month Later ....

I went far outside of my genre for this one, and am glad that I did.
I have long since completed Don't Let Me Go & have begun other books, but this is the only one I have caught myself returning to now & then to listen just for a moment or two because I absolutely love Grace & Billy and their narrators. I feel like I want to immerse myself in Billy's universe, or to at least give the man a hug. Philippe & oh gosh, all the neighbors are so inherently beautiful!!

If you know me, you know that I'm a cynical, somewhat negative punk of a woman lol & that all of this warm-hearted praise does not come naturally to me. Yet this small book has thawed out the ice chamber of my heart, and a month later I'm still not re-frozen.
It's not the most fantastic piece of literature known to man, but Ms. Ryan - Hyde has done a superb job playing God.

33 of 35 people found this review helpful

So catching...

This book brings you straight into the lives of a bunch of strangers, an apartment block and a little girl who ultimately shows people what it's truly like to be ... human. I absolutely loved the story and did not want it to end. I wish I could go on forever hearing about the bonds between the neighbours and how much they loved the little girl as their own. :)

28 of 30 people found this review helpful

great audio book

What did you love best about Don't Let Me Go?

I loved the whole thing. no complaints at all. tough to stop listening.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

i could have listened to in one sitting. it kept my attention

Any additional comments?

i love the story line. bringing people together. we all have our issues in life, some worse then others but, if we try, we can relate to others and maybe help those who have issues different then ours, and the same for people helping us, or showing that if you have someone, or people that stand behind you, life doesn't always have to get you down.

37 of 40 people found this review helpful

What an annoying child!

Would you try another book from Catherine Ryan Hyde and/or Chris Chappell and Cassandra Morris ?

Probably not.

Has Don't Let Me Go turned you off from other books in this genre?

No.

Did Chris Chappell and Cassandra Morris do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Not really. It was annoying for there to be two speakers and Cassandra's adding an accent for Felipe when Chris didn't add an accent was very distracting. That showed a lack of consistency, almost like Cassandra was showing off "I can do accents and you can't." I truly feel that if I'd read the book and had not listened to it, I might have been able to have more affection for Grace. But Cassandra's characterization and vocalization of her was so overbearing that I disliked her almost from the start.

Was Don't Let Me Go worth the listening time?

Not really but I paid for it so I finished it. Plus I wanted it to get better but it dragged and sagged and flopped.

Any additional comments?

Grace was such an annoying child and the adults around her seemed to fall prey to this loud, demanding, controlling girl. She was not precocious, she was impertinent and the author did not correctly portray her age. I thought it started out well with Grace being in need of some help and her neighbors coming to her aid, but the way she bossed around everyone turned me off. The character of Mr. Lafferty showed no imagination on the part of the author. Why was he in the book? Just so Grace could end up with a dance floor and eventually have a cat with an unimaginative name? I think that is the key thing for me. The author did not show any imagination in developing these characters so that I would actually care. They were stereotypical. Here's a Hispanic man, here's a African American woman, here's a gay man, here's an old lady, here's an abusive addicted mother, here's an bossy sponsor. The author gave me so little reason to care about Grace's mother that I had no desire to root for her to get better. How was I supposed to care about their reunion when the author painted such a awful picture? I understand addiction is awful but the whole point of the book was that in the end, didn't we want Grace to be with her mother? And how did Grace's mother get the money to buy drugs when she slept all day and did not have a job? Why the hint that Mr. Lafferty was a pedophile? Why the girl with the suitcase? Just to fill pages? By the end, I was just glad to be done with them and that's a sad commentary on the book.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

excellent reading

Love the characters! It's a heart felt story I would read again! This author is so versatile. love all her books!

26 of 29 people found this review helpful

Wonderful story

I enjoyed this book immensely. The characters were well-written and the actors brought the story to life. Thank you.

19 of 21 people found this review helpful

Slow Moving to Say the Least

Any additional comments?

While this is not a bad book, it might be better to read it in print as opposed to the audio version. It's a little slow moving and when you have to listen to every-single-word-so-slowly, your mind starts to drift.

The main character, Grace, is a little reminiscent of Shirley Temple. All "Golly gee you can do it Mr.!" But it's a cute story, with a positive message about how people can help each other change if they only take a chance to reach out to one another.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

This is a really great book!

I really enjoyed this story because it was engaging, heart-warming! The was nothing missing - it was fulfilling!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful