Don't Let Me Go

By: Catherine Ryan Hyde

Narrated by: Chris Chappell, Cassandra Morris

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)

Okay, but not a must read

None of the characters really engaged my interest. Okay story but I am glad I only spent $4.95 on this one.

BEST NARRATION IN ALL OF AUDIBLE

This book was one of my first of 300 Audible books! I still think it's the best ever. The story is captivating, the characters are perfection and the narrators have become the stuff if legend for me. I seek out Cassandra Morris and Chris Chappell and will listen to anything they want to read. Whatever you do, don't miss out on this book.

lovely book

such an uplifting story about people coming together to help one another even when you have your own problems!

Endearing

This is such a feel good story, it renews your faith in humanity - mostly - while celebrating the differences we all have. It tastefully touches on the struggles of addiction without any unnecessary flashiness.
The eyes with which Grace lovingly views each character are refreshingly gentle, in her child-like innocence.
Not a typical 'read' for me, but I enjoyed it.

Heartwarming story

i think I would have enjoyed this book more had I read it instead of listening to it. I did get used to the voice of Grace after a while, but Billy's narration was flat at times, and there were quite a few passages where he switched to a different speaker without pause or change in intonation which made it confusing as to who was speaking. Overall I enjoyed the book, but not my favorite.

Recovery, healing, hope, redemption....

This is the 4th book of Catherine Ryan Hyde I have completed and I plan to continue. I’m catching on to her beautiful, amazing way of truth telling about difficult places in life and the miracles that can occur when relating and relationship is done right. She does it in such an engaging way with characters it is easy to love and relate to.

Sweet and sour life

I wish we’d all pull together in real life!
“What a wonderful world it would be!”

Cathy

Reality. Touching. Great character development. I felt like I really got to know the characters. Heartwarming. Made me laugh and cry.

Story deserved better writing

I liked the characters and wanted to know how the story would end. As a former foster parent, I am often drawn to stories involving children in need. However I found the writing to be very dull at times. Nearly every bit of dialogue included Grace "said" or Billy "said," to the point where I almost gave up on the story. One would think that an author with several books published already would have a broader vocabulary. How about Grace "muttered" or Billy "responded"...

Overall it wasn't bad, but I won't be reading anything else by this author.

One of my new favorites.

This was unexpectedly good. The characters were richly developed, and the ending was done well, unlike others that are too abrupt or incomplete. Just give it a chance! You’ll be hooked.