Looking Back - Pay It Forward

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Fiction

1999 Pocket Books

Finished on May 29, 2001

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

The story of how a boy who believed in the goodness of human nature set out to change the world.

Pay It Forward is a wondrous and moving novel about Trevor McKinney, a twelve-year-old boy in a small California town who accepts the challenge that his teacher gives his class, a chance to earn extra credit by coming up with a plan to change the world for the better -- and to put that plan into action.

The idea that Trevor comes up with is so simple and so naïve that when others learn of it they are dismissive. Even Trevor himself begins to doubt when his "pay it forward" plan seems to founder on a combination of bad luck and the worst of human nature.

In the end, Pay It Forward is the story of seemingly ordinary people made extraordinary by the simple faith of a child. In the tradition of the successful and inspirational television show Touched by an Angel, and the phenomenally successful novel and film Forrest Gump, Pay It Forward is a work of charm, wit, and remarkable inspiration, a story of hope for today and for many tomorrows to come.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

I really enjoyed this book! I like the premise behind it--do something nice for three people and then they do the same for three more people. I have not yet seen the movie, but am familiar with the actors (Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment) and could easily envision them as I read the book. I did think there were a couple of predictable events, but was still shocked by the ending.

My Current Thoughts:

This would be fun to read (and watch) again. I remember enjoying the movie, once I got the chance to watch it. Pay It Forward is the only novel that I've read by Catherine Ryan Hyde. Apparently, she's written over 40 books!