Tuesday Teaser/First Paragraph ~ Don't Let Me Go

Re-reading is one of the hazards of seeing a book I loved on sale, so this week I'm re-reading Don't Let Me Go by Catherine Ryan Hyde and loving it just as much this time as the first. Going to have to find more by this author.

The Blurb:
Former Broadway dancer and current agoraphobic Billy Shine has not set foot outside his apartment in almost a decade. He has glimpsed his neighbors—beautiful manicurist Rayleen, lonely old Ms. Hinman, bigoted and angry Mr. Lafferty, kind-hearted Felipe, and 9-year-old Grace and her former addict mother Eileen.

But most of them have never seen Billy. Not until Grace begins to sit outside on the building’s front stoop for hours every day, inches from Billy’s patio. Troubled by this change in the natural order, Billy makes it far enough out onto his porch to ask Grace why she doesn’t sit inside where it’s safe. Her answer: “If I sit inside, then nobody will know I’m in trouble. And then nobody will help me.”

Her answer changes everything.

First Paragraph:
   Every time Billy looked out his front sliding-glass door, he saw the ugly, gray L.A. winter afternoon move that much closer to dark. A noticeable difference each time. Then he laughed, and chastised himself out loud, saying, "What did we think, Billy Boy, that that the sunset would change its mind and break with tradition just this one night?"
   He looked out again, hiding behind his curtain and wrapping it around himself as he leaned in front of the glass.
   The little girl was still there.

The Teaser:
He had come out here to ask questions, not to answer them. And yet it had seemed so natural, so inevitable, when the roles reversed on him. In fact, he wondered why he'd ever thought he could be the grown-up in this--or for that matter, any other--conversation.

By the way, I should maybe mention that the movie Pay It Forward was based on one of this author's books.

Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! To see what others are sharing on the Teaser Tuesdays, check the comments at: http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/ 

Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea

9 comments:

  1. Interesting premise and good opener. Not sure if this book is for me, I'd have to read a bit more to decide.

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  2. I'm curious. Thanks for sharing and stopping by Girl Who Reads

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  3. It does sound like an intriguing premise.

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  4. This sounds like an excellent book -- especially since you enjoyed it enough to read it twice! I've just added it to my wish list.
    Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.
    Sandy @Texas Twang

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    1. That's the joy of participating in this meme. Helping others find books they'll love, too. Well, that and stuffing my wishlist with books I might never have found on my own. :)

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  5. Agoraphobia intrigues me, so you had me at that part...and at the mention of the little girl. I am wondering what is going to happen there. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

    Love the background of your blog.

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  6. That blurb certainly gets your attention. I hope a good result for both Billy and the little girl...

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  7. Great recommendation! I like the sound of this one too.

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  8. The opener made me laugh....like the sunset would change its mind! I think I would want to read a little more before deciding to stick with it!

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