Pay It Forward - by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Paperback)

About the Book

In a version of the 1999 book rewritten for a middle-grade audience, "Trevor McKinney, a twelve-year-old boy in a small California town, accepts his teacher's challenge to earn extra credit by coming up with a plan to change the world. His idea is simple: do a good deed for three people and instead of asking them to return the favor, ask them to 'pay it forward' to three others who need help"--

Book Synopsis

The internationally bestselling book that inspired the Pay It Forward movement is now available in a middle grade edition.

Pay It Forward is a moving, uplifting novel about Trevor McKinney, a twelve-year-old boy in a small California town who accepts his teacher's challenge to earn extra credit by coming up with a plan to change the world. Trevor's idea is simple: do a good deed for three people, and instead of asking them to return the favor, ask them to "pay it forward" to three others who need help. He envisions a vast movement of kindness and goodwill spreading across the world, and in this "quiet, steady masterpiece with an incandescent ending" (Kirkus Reviews), Trevor's actions change his community forever.

This middle grade edition of Pay It Forward is extensively revised, making it an appropriate and invaluable complement to lesson plans and an ideal pick for book clubs, classroom use, and summer reading. Includes an author'snote and curriculum guide.

Review Quotes

"[An] affecting tale . . . Hyde's meticulously wrought, restrained prose imbues "Pay It Forward" with a transcendent power to move."

"[An] entertaining and inspirational tale."

"[A] fascinating idea . . . well-written . . . the characters are interesting and complex and flawed and real. . . . "Pay It Forward" will get you thinking outside of its pages, as few books do."

"A good read and an inspiring novel; fascinating in its implications. Catherine Ryan Hyde joyfully delivered me from 'if only, ' to 'what if?' to 'why not?'"

"Catherine Ryan Hyde accomplishes a very difficult job, with an easy, beneficent wisdom about the ways of the world."

"Hyde makes the unbelievable seem possible in a beautifully written, heartwarming story of one boy's belief in the goodness of humanity."

"If the success of Harry Potter suggests that many of us yearn for magic, Hyde's book delivers an even more profound vision of what it may be: the simple magic of the human heart. . . . "Parents should read this book with their children. Non-parents should read it with someone they love."

"Pay It Forward"--a book poised to become a phenomenon--is a well-designed confection that author Catherine Ryan Hyde has executed with abundant skill. If you ever had a yen for the utopian, you will have a sweet time with this heartfelt fable."

"The philosophy behind the book is so intriguing, and the optimism so contagious, that the reader is carried along with what turns out to be a book that lingers long after the last page is turned."

"The story is a quick read, told with lean sentences and an edge. . . . Hyde pulls off a poignant, gutsy ending without bathos."

"Chicago Tribune" Powerful...with believable dialoque and shadings that make the characters seem more lifelike than they have any right to be.

Richard Paul Evans Author of "The Christmas Box" A good read and an inspiring novel; fascinating in its implications. Catherine Ryan Hyde joyfully delivered me from "if only" to "what if?" to "why not?"

About the Author

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of twenty-five books, which include Where We Belong, When You Were Older, Walk Me Home, When I Found You, Don't Let Me Go, The Language of Hoofbeats, and Take Me With You, among others. More than fifty of her short stories have been published in various literary magazines. Following the success of Pay It Forward, Catherine founded the Pay It Forward Foundation and served as president until 2009. She lives in California with her dog, Ella, and their cat, Jordan. To learn more about the foundation and other forthcoming books, visit CatherineRyanHyde.com.

Amy June Bates has illustrated books including the Sam the Man series, Sweet Dreams and That's What I'd Do, both by singer-songwriter Jewel; and Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan. She lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with her husband and three children.