Just a Regular Boy

A Novel

By: Catherine Ryan Hyde

Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Kate Rudd

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

An orphaned boy raised by a survivalist wends his way into the real world in an emotional novel about hope, fears, and found family by New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Out there is chaos, the collapse of society, and so much to be afraid of. All that matters is freedom.

That’s what Remy Blake has been taught by his survivalist father. Raised off the grid in the middle of nowhere, his own survival skills not yet honed, Remy is days shy of his eighth birthday when his father unexpectedly dies. As seasons pass, supplies run out, and fending for himself grows more desperate, Remy sets out on foot, unprepared for the great unknown of civilization.

He is found—near feral, silent, and terrified—in the small rural town of Blaire. To Anne, a nurturing mother of two adopted teenagers who’s still dealing with her own childhood rejections, Remy is not a lost cause. Just a challenging one. As Remy cautiously adapts to his new foster home, his family wants nothing more than to reassure him that he can trust the world. But to do so, they must first reexamine how much they trust the world themselves, and how much they should. As Remy’s journey into the real world begins, figuring out how to navigate it becomes a path they will have to learn to walk together.

©2023 Catherine Ryan Hyde, Trustee, or Successor Trustee, of the Catherine Ryan Hyde Revocable Trust created under that certain declaration dated September 27, 1999. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Prolific author [Catherine Ryan] Hyde applies her heartwarming style to the dynamic between a foster parent and child, highlighting the power of therapy and the reliability of inner strength.” —Booklist

“The story is beautifully conceived and executed and incredibly touching. As with all of Hyde's characters, we really come to empathize with Remy and Anne.” —Bookreporter

Human endurance and love.

A remarkable story of survival and redemption that everyone will fall in love with. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

phenomenal...best book ive read this year

i dont usually write reviews, but this book. Wow! It had me crying, it worked into my dreams, it had me contemplating life in so many new and different ways. Im recommending it to everyone.

Great book

This book kept me interested from the first word until the last. Loved the narrator.

A great read!

Original Plot And the narration was excellent. It kept my attention The Entire time. Great job of exploring Psychological impact Of trauma And process of working Through albeit A bit Unrealistic In the straightforward progression, Timeline And miraculous Healing Of an 8/9-year-old Boy.
J.L.Varnado, Ph.D. Retired Psychologist

Amazing story

I love Catherine Ryan Hyde books. She brings out all sorts of emotions. Her stories really warm my heart. Well, they also break my heart, but you know what I mean. And she makes you think and feel deeper. I can’t really explain it; I just know she’s an amazing author.

It hurts my heart to know that children suffer so much and go through so many horrible things, but it’s great to know there are truly good people out there to help even the very damaged, traumatized ones.

Vaccine, mask, covid... and a kid.

Okay, so I love the story around the boy and fostering a child. It had me in tears and inspired me - if I could overlook the way my stomach was constantly churned by having to unnecessarily be hearing about covid, masks, and vaccines. IT WAS LIKE CUTE LITTLE REMY WAS THE SPOONFUL OF SUGAR TO HELP THE AUTHOR'S AGENDA GO DOWN - OUR THROATS. Honestly, the main story was her agenda, propaganda-pushing, and she used her sweet characters to try and float it along. I'm a sucker for sticking out out, just to have it end with a meh.
I'll remember this authors name - but only to avoid her agenda pushing - since I now know that's her thing.

Profound

Not just a regular story but one that provokes real thought and touches you deeply

Wonderful

This was a story that held my attention the entire time! Beautiful characters and storyline.

Just posted what I needed.

I don’t pretend to understand what’s going on but n this world besides hatred, mistrust, misinformation, misunderstanding, and so many other things. It is shaking everyone and everything to their knees. If people say otherwise, they are lying. But most of us have not been affected in this way, just by the stories we hear.
There is good. We have to seek it out and believe we can be it and do it.
If this book doesn’t make you stop feeling sorry for yourself, nothing will.
Thank You, catherine ryan hyde.

Beautiful story

This is a sweet story with a poignant timely and necessary message about how to live in our scary world.