Customer Reviews

Chasing Windmills

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Catherine Ryan Hyde is one of my favorite authors, so it was with great excitement that I read her most recent book. Chasing Windmills lived up to my expectations. Hyde draws Maria, an abused woman, and Sebastian (Tony), an isolated teenager with clarity. As Tony says, he's afraid of "...everything." The reader will learn that Maria is, too.

The degree to which Hyde can crawl inside the minds of her characters is amazing. She made me believe every thought and action of Maria and Tony. Her minor, if there were any minor, characters in this book were real also. One gets the feeling that the old Black woman, who befriends Tony, has quite a story, too, but trust Hyde not to digress from Tony and Maria to tell it. Maybe she will someday.

Tony and Maria eventually meet riding the subway to the end of the line and back. I say "eventually" because the first few times these two are only aware of each other, both too frightened of the world to even make eye contact with a stranger. Finally, they do make a strong connection and the situations they face are both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

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.

The only thing Maria and Sebastian have in common are sleepless nights and dull, unhappy lives. But when they're eyes meet on the subway one evening, they form an instant connection. As their relationship deepens, they plot their escape to California, and to a brand new life. But despite their intense relationship and new love, both Maria and Sebastian have been keeping secrets, and when those secrets are thrown into the light during their escape, their love will suffer the blow.

Chasing Windmills is a compelling, insightful, and memorable book throughout. Sebastian and Maria are both intensely real characters and Hyde portrays them in such a manner--displaying their memories, motivations, wishes, and dreams--that readers can't help but fall for them. Hyde's use of imagery is exemplary, and her vivid scenes of bustling New York City to the wide expanses of California and its numerous windmills create a hopeful tone as Maria and Sebastian find themselves, learn how to stand alone, and trust each other. Their journey is heartbreaking, but gratifying, and ends realistically and hopefully. Chasing Windmills is another stand out novel.

Cover Comments: This is the paperback edition's cover art, and I like the slightly unusual coloring to this cover. I think the greenish tinge really works well with the image, and the woman in the photo represents the Maria I pictured in my head better than Chasing Windmill's hardcover art.

Very well written story about 2 people who are emotionally damaged. They both manage to escape their poisoned environments and possibly find love along the way.
I liked the ending of this book too as it seemed realistic and not over-syrupy/fake.

This is one of those books I couldn't imagine ever reader loving it. With a YA feel to it, Hyde puts together such an emotional read. One that is impossible to put down.

A couple meets on the subway one night with instant attraction. Maria became pregnant in her teens and is currently in an abusive relationship. Sebastian is seventeen and in an abusive situation with his father. This gives them common ground and both want to escape. This desire will take them to Mojave Desert, a place of new beginnings for both of them, only it won't be exactly with they had envisioned.

I simply couldn't put down Catherine Ryan Hyde's Chasing Windmills. It's a terrific "coming of age" story, a wonderful addition to any avid reader's library and definitely for every young adult reader. The main characters, Maria and Sebastian, are so well drawn and believable, and the book is filled with down to earth characters, like people we know or have known--the good and the bad.
The story, told in alternating points of view, Maria's and Sebastian's, allows the reader direct access into their hearts and souls. The West Side Story subtext is also tremendously effective and the urban and desert setting so accurate. If you loved Catherine's previous novels, especially Pay it Forward, Walter's Purple Heart, Becoming Chloe, or even if you're not familiar with her work, this is the book to read. If there were ten stars allowed, I'd add them.

This was a quick read that delved into two similar yet different stories about what it's like to be trapped in a situation that prevents you from living. In one case there is a teenage boy who is unaware of the world because his very overprotective father keeps him locked in the apartment, even to the point of homeschooling. On the other hand, a 20-something mother of 2 is trapped by her insecure bully of a husband. To deal they both ride the subway in the middle of the night, which is where they meet and their story and attempt to change their individual outcome begins. It was an interesting story although I would've liked more from their co-development and the ending. I would recommend to others.

Upon first meeting Sabastian and Maria at the beginning of this book, I knew I had discovered an author I really liked in Catherine Ryan Hyde. The action in New York in the first half of the book was gripping as the story unfolded, but once they got on the bus for the long journey to the Mojave Desert and a mother Sabastian had not seen in over a decade, I began to feel uncomfortable. Once there, it seemed as though Sabastian and Maria would find the happiness together they truly deserved. But the author decided to make one more unsettling change at the end and I was left feeling sadness for the two young lovers and dissapointment that the story had ended the way it did. But would I recommend it to a friend? You bet!

The story seems simple, at first--boy meets girl on subway, they fall in love and will march off into the sunset...or the crowded streets of New York. But then both the characters have lots and lots of emotional and physical baggage. One is sure that these two will never end up together. The ending is amazing and wonderful and a refreshing twist on happy-ever-afters, reminding us that life is not like the movies. A fun--and fast--read.

I absolutely adore this book. It has easily become one of my favorites with its edgy style and its fast paced flow-- there is literally no convenient place to stop. I couldnt put it down; I just kept reading and was finished in one night!
The characters have their faults but you love them for it. And even better the writting reflects its respective narrators personality to the T. Both Tony (aka Sebastian) and Maria are interesting humans that you really want to know. But the supporting characters had that same kind of flair too, like Delilah and Stella for instance. All the characters were unique and interesting people. Some you want to know personally and others you really wish you could have a chance to slap; but all are totally memorable.
The story line was amazing. It was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat screaming for more! Sometimes things would happen and I'd be thinking "Wait, this cant happen!" but when it did it made sense and felt right.
Get this book, you will NOT be sorry.