Pay it Forward
a life-affirming, compelling and deeply moving novel from bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
This thought-provoking, compulsive novel shows how a simple story has the power to move you in the most extraordinary ways. From Richard & Judy bestselling Catherine Ryan Hyde, perfect for fans of Mark Haddon, Mitch Albom and Alice Sebold.
'Hyde's book delivers a profound vision: The simple magic of the human heart' - SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
'The philosophy behind this book is so intriguing, and the optimism so contagious... a book that lingers long after the last page'- DENVER POST
'The story is quick read, told with lean sentences and an edge... Hyde pulls off a poignant, gutsy ending without bathos' - LOS ANGELES TIMES
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THE EXTRADORINARY STORY OF A PERFECT IDEA...
It all started with the social studies teacher's extra-credit project: Think of an idea for world change, and put it into action.
Whilst this proved a little ambitious for most of his classmates, twelve-year-old Trevor thought he would start by doing something good for three people. But instead of paying him back, he would ask them to "pay it forward" by doing a favour for three more people.
If it all went to plan, Trevor thought, it would be the start of a long chain of human kindness . . .
Sound unlikely to you? Well a lot of other people had their doubts too - Trevor's teacher, his classmates, his mother, in fact everyone in his small California town.
It could never really work. . . could it?
Now a feature film starring Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An ordinary boy engineers a secular miracle in Hyde's (Funerals for Horses) winning second novel, set in small-town 1990s California. Twelve-year-old Trevor McKinney, the son of Arlene, a single mom working two jobs, and Ricky, a deadbeat absentee dad, does not seem well-positioned to revolutionize the world. But when Trevor's social studies teacher, Reuben St. Clair, gives the class an extra-credit assignment, challenging his students to design a plan to change society, Trevor decides to start a goodwill chain. To begin, he helps out three people, telling each of them that instead of paying him back, they must "pay it forward" by helping three others. At first, nothing seems to work out as planned, not even Trevor's attempt to bring Arlene and Reuben together. Granted, Trevor's mother and his teacher are an unlikely couple: she is a small, white, attractive, determined but insecure recovering alcoholic; he is an educated black man who lost half his face in Vietnam. But eventually romance does blossom, and unbeknownst to Trevor, his other attempts to help do "pay forward," yielding a chain reaction of newsworthy proportions. Reporter Chris Chandler is the first to chase down the story, and Hyde's narrative is punctuated with excerpts from histories Chandler publishes in later years (Those Who Knew Trevor Speak and The Other Faces Behind the Movement), as well as entries from Trevor's journal. Trevor's ultimate martyrdom, and the extraordinary worldwide success of his project, catapult the drama into the realm of myth, but Hyde's simple prose rarely turns preachy. Her Capraesque theme--that one person can make a difference--may be sentimental, but for once, that's a virtue. $250,000 ad/promo; BOMC and QPB alternates; 7-city author tour; film rights optioned by Warner Bros.
