Have You Seen Luis Velez?

By: Catherine Ryan Hyde

Narrated by: Michael Crouch

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestseller.

New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde brings heartwarming authenticity to the story of two strangers who find that kindness is a powerful antidote to fear.

Raymond Jaffe feels like he doesn’t belong. Not with his mother’s new family. Not as a weekend guest with his father and his father’s wife. Not at school, where he’s an outcast. After his best friend moves away, Raymond has only two real connections: to the feral cat he’s tamed and to a blind ninety-two-year-old woman in his building who’s introduced herself with a curious question: Have you seen Luis Velez?

Mildred Gutermann, a German Jew who narrowly escaped the Holocaust, has been alone since her caretaker disappeared. She turns to Raymond for help, and as he tries to track Luis down, a deep and unexpected friendship blossoms between the two.

Despondent at the loss of Luis, Mildred isolates herself further from a neighborhood devolving into bigotry and fear. Determined not to let her give up, Raymond helps her see that for every terrible act the world delivers, there is a mirror image of deep kindness, and Mildred helps Raymond see that there’s hope if you have someone to hold on to.

©2019 by Catherine Ryan Hyde, Trustee, or Successor Trustee, of the Catherine Ryan Hyde Revocable Trust created under that certain declaration dated September 27, 1999. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“A master of making a heartwarming tale feel authentic and socially urgent, Hyde (Just After Midnight, 2018, etc.) deftly sketches the plights of Raymond and Millie, weighting their friendship with worries and regrets that echo as true…A tender tale of new families born of chance and the determination to bring light into darkness.” (Kirkus Reviews)

INDESCRIBABLE!! But, I'll try...

I have just finished listening to this book for the second time. I also own the Kindle version, and this morning I ordered the paperback copy. Why? Because it is our book club book of the month, chosen by me. I want to physically highlight the many life lessons that are woven into the story. They will be many. The ladies are loving it, and I can't wait to discuss it with them. We come from different perspectives, but I truly believe that if you are not affected by this story, I question if your heart is still beating. My greatest respect and admiration, Catherine Ryan Hyde. God has truly given you a beautiful gift. I haven't read all of your books, only every one I could get my hands on, and I look forward to reading the rest. Michael Crouch, I listen to a lot of audio books, and certainly have my favorite narrators, but your name is now at the top of my list. I'm about to search for other books that you have narrated, and I hope that they are many. Your style and character portrayal pulls the listener into the story and doesn't let go. To anyone who is considering reading/listening to this book, do it. It will change the way you look at people in so many ways. And, just maybe, it will change your life.

Have You Seen Luis Velez?

I liked this book, although it was a little slow. It was a learning lesson for me about the relationships that young people have with different age adults outside of their own family. I enjoyed it.

Have You Seen Luis Velez

Heart warming. Easy reading and easy listening. Simple yet intricate. Loved our and would it recommend it.

Ten Stars

If I had the option, I would give this book TEN stars. The characters are wonderfully drawn and the plot is simple in it's elegance. The inter-generational nature of the characters and plot are what make this book extra-special.

A story with heart.

Loved this book. Catherine Ryan Hyde at her best! Kindness and compassion - what the world needs now.

Heartwarming

I always enjoy this author's books and this was another lovely story. It feels like a respite from our crazy world and a reminder that there are good and kind people everywhere . At times the pace slowed, but the characters deepened with every pause and it was a lovely journey to a satisfying destination.

I’m honored

Catherine Ryan Hyde is now one of my favorite authors. I felt what the characters felt, this book was so heart felt and inspiring. To say I loved it just isn’t enough. It makes you think. Thank you from me to the author.

Brilliant

Loved it, can't believe the author knows about people so well.

Shared it, something I didn't normally do.

In Love With Ray and Mrs.G!

What an amazing story!! So in love with Catherine’s writing not only she will make us feel every emotion the character we’re going through but also she will make us think and understand so much about the character's feelings.

Have You Seen Luis Velez? it’s a very challenging story where we get to encounter so much of today’s society ways of thinking, prejudices, and racism behaviours. Our hearts will break and will feel full of love with this beautiful story.

Raymond was a 16-year-old boy who felt like nobody understood him. His family is divided and his friends don’t have the same taste and likes as him. He was going through life without feeling that he belonged or accepted until one day he met someone who will not only change his life but also will bring more happiness and stability to this new friend.

Have you seen Luis Velez? it’s a story that will show you how much Ray's parents didn’t know him, he was constantly battling to fit IN, in his mother's house, With a stepdad that didn’t have any love to give, with a stepmother that felt so threatened by Ray that will make any excuses not to have any contact with him or the coldness of society that didn’t care too much about feelings and justice.

Mrs.G a 90-year-old woman who is alone with a disability that is not letting her continue her life
is desperate to find where is her good friend Luis Velez? She feels lost and doesn’t know how to find him, she barely has anything let to eat and is so afraid to even go outside. Until an angel walked by her door and life and miracles begging to happen.

Have You Seen Luis Velez? is a story of faith and friendship, is a story of how people can have a very different perspective and opinion about the same situation and outcome. is a story of hope, of not giving up no matter how sad and ungrateful life has been.

The narrations by Michael Crouch were amazing, it is my first book narrated by Michael and i really love his work, the way he made us feel every emotion the characters were going through but mainly the way he really brought the characters to life, he really made me feel like there was a lot of different narrators in the story.

One of my favorite books by Catherine! really love this book so much.

Wonderful story! (despite the narration)

I loved the story, classic Catherine Ryan Hyde. If you like this author's work you should enjoy this---characters that seem so real, a story that restores your faith in human nature and really makes you think. I almost gave up at the beginning because the narration was kind of driving me crazy. it was so slow, but I increased the speed and it helped a bit. He also narrated the young man's voice with such angst for everything. Even normal conversational dialogue was delivered with huge angst! But I stuck with it and I'm glad I did.