The Language of Hoofbeats by Catherine Ryan Hyde (@cryanhyde) – Review

About the book, The Language of Hoofbeats

Paperback: 342 pages
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (December 9, 2014)

From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward, comes a story of the heartbreak and healing power of family. New to a small town, Jackie and Paula envision a quiet life for their kids: a young adopted son and two teenage foster children, including the troubled Star. However, they quickly butt heads with their neighbor, Clementine, who disapproves of their lifestyle and is incensed when Star befriends her spirited horse, Comet. Haunted by past tragedy and unable to properly care for Comet, Clem nevertheless resents the bond Star soon shares with the horse. When Star disappears with Comet, the neighbors are thrown together—far too close together. But as the search for the pair wears on, both families must learn to put aside their animosity and confront the choices they’ve made and the scars they carry. Plumbing the depths of regret and forgiveness, The Language of Hoofbeats explores the strange alchemy that transforms a group of people into a family.

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About the author, Catherine Ryan Hyde

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the bestselling author of twenty-four novels, including the 1999 smash hitPay It Forward, which has been translated into more than two dozen languages, and was made into a major motion picture starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, and Haley Joel Osment. In addition to her novels, Hyde is the author of more than fifty short stories and is founder and former president (2000–2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation. During her years as a professional public speaker, she addressed the National Conference on Education, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with President Bill Clinton.

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My Thoughts

The Language of Hoofbeats wasn’t a ‘fall in love from the first paragraph’ kind of book for me. Instead, it drew me in slowly – oh, okay, this is a lesbian couple. Cool. Wow, they have more pets than I do (I work in rescue. Five dogs live in my house). Oh! These are foster children…etc., but by the time teenager Star was across the street picking burrs from the hide of Comet the horse, I was hooked. I wanted, not just to read about this family, but to cook them a mess of pasta and salad and garlic bread, and join them for dinner.

Between J-Mom and P-Mom, the kids, the pets, and the couple across the street, there were a lot of characters to sort out, but their stories all unfolded gently, layering themselves like the petals of a blooming flower, until, at the end, what you had was a story of loss and love, of grief and acceptance, and the answer – or one answer – to the question, “What is family?”

As someone who is blessed to have a solid nuclear family as well as an extensive chosen one, and as someone who grew up with activist parents and now works in rescue, this novel spoke to me on many levels. It’s not funny, but it does have moments of humor that come from life. It’s not horribly said, but when the tears flow, they’re laced with the essence of truth.

It’s a quiet book, one that makes you really count your blessings, and be grateful for what – and who you have, but it’s also a compelling and entertaining read

Goes well with Warm pita, hummus, and yellow lentil soup.