When I Found You

by Catherine Ryan Hyde

[Leah]

Transworld offered us some books to review and Catherine Ryan Hyde’s new one When I Found You was one of those. The synopsis sounded interesting so I asked if I could have it. It tells the story of Nathan McCann who, one day, when he goes out hunting discovers a newborn baby. It changes his life in an instant. He wants to adopt the baby but the baby goes to it’s closest relative – his Grandma. Nathan asks her to one day tell the boy – Nat – that he was the one who found him in the woods. Years later, a troubled, angry boy, turns up on his doorstep…

When I Found You was outstanding. I absolutely loved it. The plot of the novel was so great – asking the question if it’s possible to love somebody elses child as your own. It’s written in third-person and is broken up into Nathan and Nat parts. You have to keep your eyes on the dates at the beginning of each chapter as it jumps from year-to-year yet it still flows seamlessly.

The relationship between Nathan and Nat was so well written and came across so realistically. I was hooked from the first page. Even during the first 100-150 pages when Nathan and Nat weren’t together I still really enjoyed it.

Reading about Nat’s childhood and how perceptive he seemed to everything going on around him was really well written. Even though he seemed like a pain in the bum towards his Grandma I still felt for him. Not a lot of people would do what Nathan did for Nat – by that I mean wanting to adopt him. How finding that baby changed Nathan’s life was great to read about.

It really picked up when Nathan and Nat finally met – because finally here was the young boy meeting the man who saved his life the day he found him in the woods. Sure, it was far from plain sailing and Nat acted up a lot but it proved that whatever Nat did, Nathan still wanted him and would still be there for him.

Through thick and thin Nathan and Nat stayed by each other – Nat’s fledgling boxing career, Nathan’s second marriage, Nat getting married, Nathan’s marriage getting into trouble, Nat’s huge injury… the list was endless.

When I Found You was an astounding tale of (grand)father/son-type relationship and was incredibly well written by Catherine. There were minor characters in the book – my favourite being Little Manny, Nat’s boxing coach but the book was predominately about Nathan and Nat – which will surprise people but it works so well. Not only that but it was also incredibly sad – the last 30 pages nearly had me in tears – I had a feeling it would end that way but I still wasn’t prepared for it!

When I Found You is probably one of my favourite books of 2009 – if not ever. It is well worth a read – I wholly recommend it.

Rating: 5/5

I’d like to thank Transworld for sending me a copy to review.