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.

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?"

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

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

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

"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."

"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."

"[An] entertaining and inspirational tale."

"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."

"[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."

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

"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?'"

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

Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

Pub date: 2014-08-19

Length: 288 pages