Pay it Forward, Catherine Ryan Hyde
Pay it Forward, Catherine Ryan Hyde
10 Rating(s)
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

Pay it Forward

Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde

Narrator: William Dufris

Unabridged: 8 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/03/2012


Synopsis

An immediate bestseller when first published, Pay It Forward captured hearts all over the world, became a wildly popular film, and spawned a generation of increased altruism. This anniversary edition includes a new introduction by the author. It takes an inspiring and moving tale of a young boy who believed in the power of kindness and brings it to a new generation of readers.

Twelve-year-old Trevor McKinney accepts his social studies teacher’s challenge: come up with a plan to change the world. His idea is simple: Do a good deed for three people and ask them to “pay it forward” to three others in need. He envisions a vast movement of kindness and goodwill spreading beyond his small California town and across the world. The project, however, appears to falter. Jerry, a bum who receives some allowance money from Trevor, returns to a life of dissolution. Trevor wants his pretty, hardworking mother—a woman who raised him lovingly despite struggles with alcoholism—to marry his teacher, Reuben St. Clair. Reuben is a scarred, bitter, untrusting man with a disfiguring injury from Vietnam. He seems to come alive only when in front of his class. For a time that matchmaking brings nothing but problems. Ultimately, though, unusual things start to happen. Crime rates dip across the nation, and nobody seems to know why. Then a journalist tracks down the source: an epidemic of random acts of kindness.

Anyone who has ever despaired of one person’s ability to effect change will rejoice in Trevor’s courage and determination to see the good in everyone.

About Catherine Ryan Hyde

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of twenty-five books, which include Where We Belong, When You Were Older, Walk Me Home, When I Found You, Don’t Let Me Go, The Language of Hoofbeats, and Take Me With You, among others. More than fifty of her short stories have been published in various literary magazines. Following the success of Pay It Forward, Catherine founded the Pay It Forward Foundation and served as president until 2009. She lives in California with her dog, Ella, and their cat, Jordan. To learn more about the foundation and other forthcoming books, visit CatherineRyanHyde.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kim on October 11, 2021

4 stars I didn't know this idea stemmed from this book and now I love this author even more! It's a nice reminder, especially in challenging times like these, to be kind.......more

Goodreads review by Karen on April 07, 2025

Catching up… “There is no wrong way to perform an act of kindness.” I read this one years ago as I prepared to interview the author (CRH) as part of our Library Book Discussion Group, Local Authors Series. It was one of my most memorable experiences as Coordinator of the program. I thought I had alre......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on March 02, 2011

If I hadn’t had anything else on my plate, I would have read Catherine Ryan Hyde’s Pay It Forward straight through. Even so, I pushed some things off and shuffled the schedule around in order to make time for reading. I had seen the movie a few years ago, but hadn’t been aware until recently that it......more

Goodreads review by Dawn on December 09, 2020

A moving story about helping others & how paying it forward can spread more kindness in this difficult world. I've seen the movie many times. I almost always read the book first, so I had to change my thinking while reading the book. I had to stop picturing Helen Hunt & Kevin Spacey as main characte......more

Goodreads review by sophia the first on October 27, 2024

So I originally read this because I am turning into a cynical adult disillusioned with the world, which CANNOT HAPPEN. I love sparkles, I listen to Disney songs when working out, just look at my Goodreads profile pic (candid shot). And obviously life has had its ups and downs, but I’ve always though......more