Synopses & Reviews
It all started with the social studies teacher's extra-credit assignment: come up with a plan to change the world for the better, and do it. Twelve-year-old Trevor McKinney began by doing something good for three people. But instead of paying him back, he asked them to "pay it forward" by doing a favor for three more people, who in turn would help three others, and so on, each act a link in a chain of human kindness.
And no one -- not his teacher, his mom, or anyone in his small California town -- could ever have dreamed of how far Trevor's plan would go.
Review
Library JournalAn uplifting, tear-jerking, and inspiring modern fable, with an extremely appealing young protagonist.
Review
Chicago TribuneCatherine Ryan Hyde accomplishes a very difficult job, with an easy, beneficent wisdom about the ways of the world.
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Los Angeles TimesThe story is a quick read, told with lean sentences and an edge....Hyde pulls off a poignant, gutsy ending without bathos.
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San Antonio Express-News[An] entertaining and inspirational tale.
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BooklistHyde makes the unbelievable seem possible in a beautifully written, heartwarming story of one boy's belief in the goodness of humanity.
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Publishers Weekly (starred review)[A] winning novel....Hyde's Capra-esque theme -- that one person can make a difference -- may be sentimental, but for once, that's a virtue.
Synopsis
It all started with the social studies teacher's extra-credit assignment: come up with a plan to change the world for the better, and do it. Twelve-year-old Trevor McKinney began by doing something good for three people. But instead of paying him back, he asked them to "pay it forward" by doing a favor for three more people, who in turn would help three others, and so on, each act a link in a chain of human kindness.
And no one -- not his teacher, his mom, or anyone in his small California town -- could ever have dreamed of how far Trevor's plan would go.
About the Author
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Funerals for Horses and numerous short stories, including the collection Earthquake Weather. She lives in Cambria, California.