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Chasing Windmills [Paperback]

Catherine Ryan Hyde (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 8 Nov 2008

Sebastian, at 17, has never eaten pizza, never been to school, never even hung out with other kids. He rides the subway at night to escape his father's strict, possessive parenting.

Maria, 22 and mother to two young children, has just lost her job. Afraid to confess to her violent boyfriend, Maria resorts to riding the subway when he thinks she's at work.

And then one night, on an empty train, Sebastian and Maria make eye contact . . .

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Chasing Windmills + When I Found You + Love In The Present Tense
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  • When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde Paperback �6.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Black Swan (8 Nov 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0552774669
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552774666
  • Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 20.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 300,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Catherine Ryan Hyde Page
Catherine Ryan Hyde
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of more than 16 novels including Pay it Forward (which was made into a feature film starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt), Love in the Present Tense (a Richard & Judy Book Club bestseller), Chasing Windmills, When I Found You, Second Hand Heart, The Hardest Part of Love, Don't Let Me Go, and the forthcoming When You Were Older.

For more information on Catherine Ryan Hyde and her books, see her website at www.catherineryanhyde.com And while you're there, click on "Contact Me" and drop a line to the author, who loves to hear from readers!

Catherine lives in a very small town in California.

She also writes Young Adult novels that are completely suitable for grown-ups, and which her adult readers tend to enjoy as well. They include Becoming Chloe, The Year of my Miraculous Reappearance, The Day I Killed James, Diary of a Witness, and Jumpstart the World.

Product Description

Review

"This gritty love story is compelling reading" (Sun)

"Surprisingly wonderful" (Mirror)

Book Description

A chance meeting on a train, and two lives changed forever . . .
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Emotional Pitch! 21 Mar 2008
By Christian
Format:Hardcover
It's not often that I'm so compelled to write a review of a book I've read as I am with "Chasing Windmills." Hyde, author of several of my favorite adult and young adult novels, has hit a pitch-perfect emotional note with this, her latest story.

With each successive novel, Hyde creates an increasingly rich emotional backdrop against which she displays her true talent: drawing characters that are at once simple in their honesty and their flaws, and tremendously complex in the situations and emotional intensity their choices push them into. It's exciting to see a skilled writer continue to grow into her craft, as Hyde does with style and a deft heart in "Windmills."

Like "Love in the Present Tense," we're presented with characters who have been marginalized in their own lives, and whom are inevitably drawn to one another with sometimes disastrous results. Using the story of Romeo and Juliet, and subsequently the characters in "West Side Story" as the melody around which Hyde constructs her word symphony, "Windmills" hits its stride about a quarter of the way in and does not slow down until the very last page.

Not only was I forced to stop several times so that I could absorb the complex beauty of the story and the writing, but found myself returning to several chapters to re-read them so as not to miss a single thing. More than once, "Windmills" brought tears to my eyes. Hyde is an unfailing expert at creating a story that immediately resonates on every level, hits every emotional button, and makes me feel like a better person having read her writing. "Chasing Windmills" goes on my top ten list of favorite reads.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful and moving treat for all 19 Nov 2008
By MissReader
Format:Paperback
I'm a big Catherine Ryan Hyde fan (have been since Love in the Present Tense) so I always expect great things from her and she never lets me down - Chasing Windmills was no exception. This is a moving and emotional novel and I loved every page of it.

There's something about the relationship between Sebastian and Maria that is completely captivating - I wanted to know what was going to happen to them, do they get their happy ending despite the references to Romeo and Juilet and West Side Story!? In fact, all the relationships are elegantly portrayed and even though the novel explores so many issues, the writing is so unassuming that its depth is quite surprising. The story is simply told, the characters appear very real and there was enough going on in terms of plot to keep me satisfied.

Actually, I was more than satisfied! It's a wonderful, wonderful read and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of well-written and engaging novels.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Another classic from Catherine Ryan Hyde 31 Oct 2008
By S. Holmes
Format:Paperback
I am a big fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde's novels having read her Richard and Judy book club title Love in the Present Tense. Since then I have read all her books and they just keep getting better.

Chasing Windmills is a beautifully told, emotional and brilliantly engaging story about two people who spend their nights riding the New York subway. Each has something in their lives they wish to escape. The journey they go on together is compellingly described in the author's trademark simple style. I defy anyone not to be moved by this story.

A book I will be recommending to all of my friends.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book 12 July 2009
By Mrs. S. R. Wray
Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase
For some reason I had put this book on my shelf for things I've already read, and came across it when I was looking for something else. I picked it up because I couldn't remember reading it and scanned the first page. This was about tea time yesterday, and by two thirty this morning I had read the whole book. I really love Catherine Ryan Hyde - especially Love in the Present Tense, and now this book, Chasing Windmills. Her style of writing is very simple and readable but still beautiful. Although the books are American, they don't annoy me the way some American books do. I love her characters - flawed yet the sort of people I'd like to meet (or even be). I loved the notion of the two main characters meeting because they were both riding the subway late at night for their own very different, yet ultimately similar reasons. I liked that alternate chapters were voiced by the two characters and the way their own voices came through. The references to old movies like Singing in the Rain and West Side Story has made me want to rush out and buy them - I can totally identify with Maria watching West Side Story over and over - I do that with Moulin Rouge!
It's a rare treat these days to find a movie or a book that is just a good story well told and that resonates with me after it's finished, but Chasing Windmills is just that. Highly recommended.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too 23 April 2008
By TeensReadToo TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Seventeen-year-old Sebastian sneaks out at night. His domineering father home-schools him, makes decisions for him, and keeps an eye on him every minute of every day. Sebastian knows that only the nights are his after his father takes his sleeping pill.

Maria is a young mother of two, living with an abusive boyfriend. She is riding the subway because she is too afraid to admit to Carl that she has lost her job. She knows it can't go on forever, but once she meets Sebastian it becomes impossible to imagine life without him.

They met late one night on the subway. They exchanged glances and shy smiles, and finally they began to talk.

Once Sebastian begins to see the real world, he begins to question how his father has raised him. His only friend, an old woman living in a neighboring apartment, gives him the love his father never shows. With her encouragement, he makes a plan to escape from his father and take Maria with him. He contacts the maternal grandmother he barely remembers and learns his father has not just sheltered him, but also lied to him. His mother didn't die. She is alive and well in the Mojave Desert where he is welcome anytime.

Author Catherine Ryan Hyde tells the story of Sebastian and Maria in alternating chapters. The fear and pain of their loveless lives screams from the pages. I found myself feeling the absence of one when the chapter I was reading focused on the other. Even though CHASING WINDMILLS somewhat parallels several famous love stories of the past, it has its own unique voice and interpretation. It will most certainly touch your heart.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing page turner!
Seventeen year old Sebastian lives a sheltered life, dominated by his controlling father. Maria is trapped in an abusive relationship with the father of her two children. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Petal
5.0 out of 5 stars Emotional
This really pulled on my heartstrings. The ending did it for me. Couldn't put it down. Am now looking at other books by this author.
Published 7 months ago by Miss Bevan
5.0 out of 5 stars Hyde envelops us in this world
this book is so beautifully written, the characters sebastian and maria are not cardboard cut outs they come from different backgrounds and yet are controlled from a very young... Read more
Published 9 months ago by PixcyPants
5.0 out of 5 stars chasing windmills
I enjoyed hearing the story from both points of view. This is the first book I have read by Catherine Ryan Hyde and I will definitely read more of her books.
Published 13 months ago by Swazi
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Decided to order this book after having read some reviews on it. It did not disappoint. The book is written from its two main characters point of view, who are both very... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Tennis tastic
3.0 out of 5 stars 7/10 rather than three stars if I'm honest
I've just finished this one and enjoyed it. I found it a very easy read and I loved the way the story was written as alternate parts of the same chapter by Sebastian and Maria. Read more
Published 23 months ago by B. Robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars another great book
Also bought this book by the same author as Paying Back. Good quick service and i thoroughly enjoyed it. Will be buying more.
Published on 17 May 2012 by Catriona from Alloa
2.0 out of 5 stars not for me.....
I found myself reading the story just waiting for something to happen, which it did not. I really wanted to enjoy this book but unfortunatley I just couldn't get into the book. Read more
Published on 16 April 2012 by bright star
3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as expected
Love in the Present Tense is one of my all-time favourite novels so I knew that Chasing Windmills would at least be well written and gripping. Read more
Published on 13 July 2011 by Bajan Girl
4.0 out of 5 stars A moving story
This is a really well written book. It is from the points of view of two very differnt people and it follows a jounrey they go on together. Read more
Published on 4 Jun 2011 by V. Franklin
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