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A review by jamiecakes0522
Have You Seen Luis Velez? by Catherine Ryan Hyde
4.0
Young Raymond finds himself a friend in Ms. G, a blind elderly neighbor who suddenly needs his help. A man named Luis Velez used to show up to help Ms. G, but she hasn't seen him in awhile. She is worried about Luis and she about a half a can of soup away from going hungry when Raymond stops to help her.
Raymond is a mixed race teenage step kid looking for a place to belong. He is also questioning who he is and who he wants to become. I think that many teens could relate to Raymond, making it a great read for young adults. He is also kind to a fault. Almost too kind, I noted. It was hard to believe that any seventeen year old boy would be as emotionally intelligent as Raymond.
The relationship with Raymond and Ms. G is so delightful. It was lovely to read about a young boy taking so much interest in the well being of an elderly blind woman. However, Raymond's mother calls his friendship with 92 year old Mildred, "icky and weird". It was easy to see how Raymond could feel like an outcast by his own family, with his mother giving him such a harsh observation of his choices.
Raymond's adventures in finding Luis Velez for Ms. G take him to many different "Luis'" before he stumbles upon the right one. This part of the story had a parable feel to it. Almost every Luis offered up the reason why he wished he could have been the one who was helping and elderly lady - but each giving excuses why he couldn't. It was interesting to see how the Luis' all started to fit into Raymond's life.
This novel is both charming and eye opening. It would be great for a book club or even for a classroom read. In fact, the text feels like it was written for a younger audience.
In the words of Raymond's wise librarian, "The world is terrible and wonderful at the same time. One doesn't negate the other, but wonderful keeps us in the game." This is the theme of Have you Seen Luis? Kindness. Wonder. Those are the things that remind us that everything is worth it.
Thank you to Little Bird Publicity and Amazon Publishing for the ARC of Have You Seen Luis Velez? in exchange for an honest review.
Raymond is a mixed race teenage step kid looking for a place to belong. He is also questioning who he is and who he wants to become. I think that many teens could relate to Raymond, making it a great read for young adults. He is also kind to a fault. Almost too kind, I noted. It was hard to believe that any seventeen year old boy would be as emotionally intelligent as Raymond.
The relationship with Raymond and Ms. G is so delightful. It was lovely to read about a young boy taking so much interest in the well being of an elderly blind woman. However, Raymond's mother calls his friendship with 92 year old Mildred, "icky and weird". It was easy to see how Raymond could feel like an outcast by his own family, with his mother giving him such a harsh observation of his choices.
Raymond's adventures in finding Luis Velez for Ms. G take him to many different "Luis'" before he stumbles upon the right one. This part of the story had a parable feel to it. Almost every Luis offered up the reason why he wished he could have been the one who was helping and elderly lady - but each giving excuses why he couldn't. It was interesting to see how the Luis' all started to fit into Raymond's life.
This novel is both charming and eye opening. It would be great for a book club or even for a classroom read. In fact, the text feels like it was written for a younger audience.
In the words of Raymond's wise librarian, "The world is terrible and wonderful at the same time. One doesn't negate the other, but wonderful keeps us in the game." This is the theme of Have you Seen Luis? Kindness. Wonder. Those are the things that remind us that everything is worth it.
Thank you to Little Bird Publicity and Amazon Publishing for the ARC of Have You Seen Luis Velez? in exchange for an honest review.