Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.49 You Save: $4.50 (56%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Pay It Forward
Book Review: A great read!
Summary: 4 Stars
Pay it Forward is one of my favourite all time books. I was so annoyed when a saw a reveiw written by a certain person called Steven, whoever he is, who said that Pay it Forward was unrealistic.It is a wonderful book packed with imagination, cliffhangers, humour and even tragedy! The ending had me crying! You get to know the characters so well, that it almost makes you want to scream when anything bad happens to them!
Book Review: A mezmerizing book
Summary: 4 Stars
Although this book didn't touch me like other books I have read in the past. I would recommend this book to anybody who wants to change the world because this book has such an important message. It says no matter how small you are what age you are you can make a difference, and this book is a perfect example of that. This book had me in awe that a kid my age named Trevor Mckinny could change the world with a Social Studies project that stated see if you can change the world. Trevor got right to work and made a huge impact in socity. The author did such a great job on describing Trevor's friends and family. They where so vivid and clear. For example th way she describes Ruben St. Clairs face( Trevor's Social Studies teacher) as being all torn up from an accident in war. Another character that the author did a vivid job of describing is Arline Mckinny(Trevors mom)she described her as being a worn out mother who has so much love to give yet she is giving it to all the wrong people. Get ready to be blown away with an endiing that you will never forget. This ending had me in awe, who would ever think that innocent Trevor Mckinny on his last mission to help the world would be fatally stabbed. Will he live or die you will just have to read and find out. So if you have a heart and your ready to be blasted away read the book Pay It ForwardBook Review: A novel worth reading...
Summary: 5 Stars
Pay It Forward, was a very interesting story, it makes you wonder about a lot of different aspects in life. I admire Trevor, he is such an amazing character I think the project he started was a brilliant idea - doing something good for someone and in return that person helps someone else and so it goes on. If the world worked like that in this day and age there would be a lot less problems, it would not solve everything but it might just help in a few cases. I admired Arlene for looking past Reuben's apperance and getting to know him despite their differences. Reuben was a great help to Trevor. Trevor looked to Reuben as a father-figure and it made him a happier person.
It was good to see that Trevor's effort did not go unnoticed. It was unfortunate that Arlene has to lose her son but he left he world as a hero. :-)
Book Review: A sweet, deceptively simple novel
Summary: 4 Stars
What might it take to remake our world into a place where violence and poverty are only memories? Is it possible to dream a social program to short-circuit the human habits of 5,000 years? Is it going to take an apocalypse to change the way people treat each other? Catherine Ryan Hyde, in her new novel "Pay It Forward," offers a hopeful vision of a world that is reborn, one person at a time.Trevor McKinney is a fairly ordinary 12-year-old. His father is long gone. His mother Arlene loves him, but she's distracted by two necessary jobs and by her on-and-off battle with the bottle. It's not the most idyllic life for a preteen, but he accepts the challenges with a mature equanimity.
It's easy to visualize Trevor at his middle school in Atascadero, Calif. He doesn't stand out as a popular or brilliant student; he blends into the scenery with the rest of the middleof-the-road kids. He particularly enjoys class with the school's new social studies teacher, Reuben St. Clair. Like Trevor, St. Clair lives with a set of challenges; his are immediately visible as disfiguring scars that are a daily reminder of Vietnam.
Trevor has a quality quite unusual for children his age - the ability to look beyond surface appearance to see the character beneath. Unlike his peers, he's not put off by his teacher's appearance. Also unlike most of his classmates, he's willing to accept the extracredit challenge offered by St. Clair to "think of an idea for world change, and put it into action." It is an assignment the teacher hopes will inspire his students to consider their present and future roles in society.
The student projects are heartfelt but, not surprisingly, small-scale efforts. Trevor brings an altogether different kind of think-globally-act-locally vision to the lesson. World change would happen, he thinks, if he could do one good deed large enough to make a difference in someone's life for each of three people. Then, instead of asking that the favor be paid back, ask that it be paid forward in an act that is equally life-changing, to three new people.
"Pay It Forward" sidesteps the syrupy trap of simple and sequential acts of random kindness. Trevor's plan falls victim to its obvious flaw, that of a good deed failed. When Trevor takes the savings from his paper route to help a dere lict rise above skid row, the man blows his first paycheck on drugs and ends up in jail. When Trevor helps an elderly neighbor by reviving her garden, the widow dies before Trevor sees the impact of the bargain.
The novel's construction is a bit unusual, combining bits from Trevor's journal and the observations of those around him with the musings of an investigative reporter who, 10 years later, is trying to track down the wellspring of society's change.
From the first page of the book it is obvious that Trevor's project has an immeasurable impact on the world. It is equally clear that some tragedy is impending, though the actual event isn't revealed until near the end of the novel.
"Pay It Forward" is a sweet, deceptively simple novel with some very big ideas. The character development is a bit weak, as Hyde tends to tell rather than show her characters. This minor flaw is easy to ignore. The philosophy behind the book is so intriguing, and the optimism so contagious, that the reader is carried along with what turns out to be a book that lingers long after the last page is turned.
Book Review: Almost excellent
Summary: 3 Stars
The story of the book is good, the way that Trevor makes his homework is amazing, the love story between Reuben and Arlene is fair enough, but the las two chapters and the epilogue you just can skip them, they make the story like a fairy tale, don't leave anything to your imagination, I think that is a big mistake.