Walter's Purple Heart
 
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From Publishers Weekly Though the much-hyped movie version of Pay It Forward sank into box-office doldrums soon after its release, Hyde still soars, turning out another heartwarming if melodramatic tale. In her fourth novel, the eponymous Walter is dead, killed by a Japanese sniper at Guadalcanal in 1942. Forty years later, his spirit comes back and declares, "Nobody in this story is going anywhere without me." By that, he means his high school sweetheart, a wartime buddy, and the very confused California marijuana farmer he chooses as his earthly host. Twenty-one-year-old pot enthusiast Michael Steeb unexpectedly meets Walter's spirit one day while fooling around with a Ouija board. Michael freaks out, and it takes Walter some time to convince Michael that his spirit is real and that Michael must help him unravel a 40-year-old mystery. Michael and Walter finally become friends, and Walter sends Michael to New Mexico to locate his wartime sweetheart, Mary Ann, and his old army buddy, Andrew. They have been married 38 years and each has powerful memories of Walter, but Walter has a few hard questions he wants to ask them. It's a bit disconcerting when Michael, channeling Walter, romances the 60-something Mary Ann, but the power of human emotion in its purest form wins out over physical barriers. Though she doesn't skimp on the schmaltz, Hyde has a sure touch with affairs of the heart. (Apr. 10) Forecast: It's hard to say whether the big-screen fate of Pay It Forward will help or hinder Hyde's latest, but her higher profile will likely attract at least a few extra readers. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal Adult/High School-Reincarnation is at the core of this story that unfolds through the eyes of four characters. Walter was a soldier in World War II who died during battle and whose spirit is not ready to leave Earth. Andrew is Walter's best friend, and the one who convinced him to enlist in the war. Michael is his reincarnation, who 40 years later at the age of 21 is an aimless pot farmer in California. Finally, there is Mary Ann, Walter's fiancee, who married Andrew. One evening, Walter awakens Michael's perception of his former self by communicating with him through a Ouija board and asks for help with some unfinished business that he left behind. If the novel's premise seems complicated in soap-opera-like proportions, it is. Hyde, however, is a masterful storyteller. Thoroughly engrossing, the book does not allow for skipping a single page as she keeps the momentum up by surprising readers with new details about Walter's life throughout the story. They add to the mystery of why the young man's spirit remains earthbound and keep readers guessing about what it will take for him to cross over to the other side. Both sentimental and heartwarming, this novel delivers all the ingredients for a day of leisure reading. Julie Dasso, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Submitted On:

09 Sep 2007

File Author:

Hyde, Catherine Ryan

File Size:

8.39 MB