Seven Perfect Things
by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Of all the Catherine Ryan Hyde books I’ve read, my favorite is Seven Perfect Things. Charming, sweet, and heartwarming, it has all the elements of Hyde’s novels but it isn’t so dramatic that it brings the readers down.
The start of the novel could turn into something ominous, but don’t worry, it isn’t creepy at all. A preteen girl wanders around in the woods and finds an abandoned cabin. She sees a man drive up to the nearby river and try to drown a sack of puppies, and she jumps into the river to save them. Then, after finding out from the local shelter that the puppies will be put down if she leaves them there, she decides to hide them in the abandoned cabin and visit them every day – without telling her parents. I know, it sounds like it’ll turn into a child molester-kidnapping book, but it doesn’t. Nothing bad happens to the girl or the puppies.
I love how simple the plot is, and yet how sometimes the simplest things can become so complicated. It shows how the bravery and courage of a young girl can inspire grown-ups who think they’re too stuck to change. One adult is involved in an abusive relationship, so controlling and damaging that she concocts a lie so she can sneak out of the house and meet a friend for lunch. Another grown-up is a recent widower, and he hates the well-meaning platitudes everyone feeds him. No one knows how he feels, no one knows what’s best, and he’ll never recuperate from his loss. Except, there’s a little girl who fuels everyone with hope. And there are seven puppies, seven perfect things, that are so sweet and loving, they’re guaranteed to make anyone smile
The start of the novel could turn into something ominous, but don’t worry, it isn’t creepy at all. A preteen girl wanders around in the woods and finds an abandoned cabin. She sees a man drive up to the nearby river and try to drown a sack of puppies, and she jumps into the river to save them. Then, after finding out from the local shelter that the puppies will be put down if she leaves them there, she decides to hide them in the abandoned cabin and visit them every day – without telling her parents. I know, it sounds like it’ll turn into a child molester-kidnapping book, but it doesn’t. Nothing bad happens to the girl or the puppies.
I love how simple the plot is, and yet how sometimes the simplest things can become so complicated. It shows how the bravery and courage of a young girl can inspire grown-ups who think they’re too stuck to change. One adult is involved in an abusive relationship, so controlling and damaging that she concocts a lie so she can sneak out of the house and meet a friend for lunch. Another grown-up is a recent widower, and he hates the well-meaning platitudes everyone feeds him. No one knows how he feels, no one knows what’s best, and he’ll never recuperate from his loss. Except, there’s a little girl who fuels everyone with hope. And there are seven puppies, seven perfect things, that are so sweet and loving, they’re guaranteed to make anyone smile