Catherine Ryan Hyde's international sensation, Pay It Forward, is the moving story of Trevor McKinney, a twelve-year-old boy who accepts his social studies teacher's challenge to come up with a plan to change the world. Trevor's idea is simple: Do a good deed for three people and ask them to "pay it forward" to three others who need help. He envisions a vast movement of kindness and goodwill spreading beyond his small California town and across the world. However, when Jerry, a bum to whom Trevor gave his allowance, returns to a life of dissolution, the project seems valuable only as a lesson on the dark side of human nature.
But ultimately Trevor is vindicated. At first people don't know how to explain the odd dip in crime rates across the nation, but a journalist with a story of his own tracks down the source of the epidemic of random acts of kindness and makes Trevor a celebrity. Yet Trevor has problems closer to home: he wants his pretty, hardworking mother to see the softer side of his beloved teacher, Reuben St. Clair, a scarred Vietnam veteran who seems to come alive only when he's in front of his class.
Anyone who has ever despaired of one person's ability to effect change will rejoice in Trevor's courage and his determination to see the good in everyone.
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"Pay it Forward was easily one of the best books I have ever read. It was very well written. It showed all of the struggles each of the characters had in great detail. I loved the whole idea of the book, that one kid could change the world so greatly with a great act of kindness."
— 712 (5 out of 5 stars)
“Powerful…with believable dialogue and shadings that make the characters seem more lifelike than they have any right to be.”
— Chicago Tribune“This novel has a steely core of gritty reality beneath its optimism: yes, one person can make a difference, can help to make the world a better place, but sickness, pain, heartache, and tragedy will still always be a part of the human condition.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review“[Hyde’s] book is…an uplifting, tear-jerking, and inspiring modern fable, with an extremely appealing young protagonist.”
— Library Journal“A quiet, steady masterpiece, with an incandescent ending.”
— Kirkus Reviews" This is a very sad but inspiring book about a young boy who wants to help the world. He has a plan to pay it forward by helping people and having them help others. The concept is amazing and one that I wish could be applied. "
— Angela, 2/8/2014" The concept of "Paying It Forward" is compelling and worth doing. For that reason alone, I would recommend this book. I don't think the story was particularly well-written. "
— Laura, 1/16/2014" What a moving book! It was sooooooo good! I wish the movie was this good! It was so awesome! I LOVED IT! "
— Alex, 1/6/2014" didn't like the movie, but the book was pretty good. "
— Stacey, 12/11/2013" It was okay, I think I would have liked the book more if I hadn't already seen the movie. "
— Christine, 12/11/2013" not to demanding nice easy read and a good story "
— Heather, 12/8/2013" Touching story. Saw the movie years ago but well worth reading the book. "
— Diane, 11/20/2013" The end was a tough, but I loved the book a lot more than I liked the movie. "
— Miss66, 9/24/2013" So many people had told me to read this book after I described the concept of paying it forward without calling it that. I so love the idea that the book charmed me! "
— Karen, 8/16/2013" 12 yr Tevor Changes the world with is pay it forward(not pay back)idea originally a school assignment "
— Vicki, 8/3/2013" love the idea behind this story and characters but slightly hoped for more "
— Sara, 6/29/2013Catherine Ryan Hyde is the award-winning author of more than forty books. Her novel Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture and chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list. Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA Rainbow List, and Jumpstart the World was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards. Where We Belong won two Rainbow Awards in 2013, and The Language of Hoofbeats won a Rainbow Award in 2015. Her stories have been honored by the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the Tobias Wolff Award and have been nominated for Best American Short Stories, the O’Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize.
William Dufris attended the University of Southern Maine in Portland-Gorham before pursuing a career in voice work in London and then the United States. He has won more than twenty AudioFile Earphones Awards, was voted one of the Best Voices at the End of the Century by AudioFile magazine, and won the prestigious Audie Award in 2012 for best nonfiction narration. He lives with his family in Maine.