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Start giftingChasing Windmills
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreSebastian, a lonely seventeen-year-old, is suffocating under his dominant father’s control. In the ten years since his mother passed away, his father has kept him “safe” by barely allowing him out of their apartment. Sebastian’s secret late-night subway rides are rare acts of rebellion.
Maria, a young mother of two, is trying to keep peace at home despite her boyfriend’s abuse. When she loses her job, she avoids telling him by riding the subways during her usual late-night shift. She knows she needs to “live in the truth.” But she still hasn’t been able to bring herself to do it. And soon he will expect her paycheck to arrive.
When Sebastian and Maria wind up on the same train, these two strangers find a connection that neither can explain or ignore. Together they dream of a new future, agreeing to run away. But Maria doesn’t know Sebastian is only seventeen. And Sebastian doesn’t know Maria has children until the moment they leave. Ultimately, Maria brings one child, her daughter. But can she really leave her little boy behind?
In this tremendously moving novel, Catherine Ryan Hyde shows us how two people trapped by life’s circumstances can break free and find a place in the world where love is genuine and selfless.
Catherine Ryan Hyde, an acclaimed novelist and award-winning short-story writer, is the author of the story collection Earthquake Weather and of the novels Love in the Present Tense, Walter's Purple Heart, Funerals for Horses, Electric God, and Pay It Forward, which was named an ALA Book of the Year and made into a feature film. She lives in Cambria, California. Her website is cryanhyde.com.
Jesse Bernstein is an award-winning audiobook narrator who has appeared in several television shows, including iCarly, Criminal Minds, and NCIS: Los Angeles. His film credits include such independents as CobraGator, Far Marfa, and Gray Sunshine. Jesse can also be seen and heard in many national television and radio commercials.
Amber Sealey is an experienced and versatile stage, television, and film actress who has worked in both the US and UK. She trained at UCSC, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and the Central School of Speech and Drama. Her film work includes The Good Night and Big Nothing.
Catherine Ryan Hyde, an acclaimed novelist and award-winning short-story writer, is the author of the story collection Earthquake Weather and of the novels Love in the Present Tense, Walter's Purple Heart, Funerals for Horses, Electric God, and Pay It Forward, which was named an ALA Book of the Year and made into a feature film. She lives in Cambria, California. Her website is cryanhyde.com.
Jesse Bernstein is an award-winning audiobook narrator who has appeared in several television shows, including iCarly, Criminal Minds, and NCIS: Los Angeles. His film credits include such independents as CobraGator, Far Marfa, and Gray Sunshine. Jesse can also be seen and heard in many national television and radio commercials.
Amber Sealey is an experienced and versatile stage, television, and film actress who has worked in both the US and UK. She trained at UCSC, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and the Central School of Speech and Drama. Her film work includes The Good Night and Big Nothing.
Catherine Ryan Hyde, an acclaimed novelist and award-winning short-story writer, is the author of the story collection Earthquake Weather and of the novels Love in the Present Tense, Walter's Purple Heart, Funerals for Horses, Electric God, and Pay It Forward, which was named an ALA Book of the Year and made into a feature film. She lives in Cambria, California. Her website is cryanhyde.com.
Jesse Bernstein is an award-winning audiobook narrator who has appeared in several television shows, including iCarly, Criminal Minds, and NCIS: Los Angeles. His film credits include such independents as CobraGator, Far Marfa, and Gray Sunshine. Jesse can also be seen and heard in many national television and radio commercials.
Amber Sealey is an experienced and versatile stage, television, and film actress who has worked in both the US and UK. She trained at UCSC, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and the Central School of Speech and Drama. Her film work includes The Good Night and Big Nothing.
Reviews
Praise for Chasing Windmills“A sweet tale openly modeled on West Side Story… a gentle tale centering how how people come to grip with their pasts.” –Kirkus Reviews
“Simple and captivating. It is [Sebastian's and Maria's] voices–at once utterly credible and heartbreakingly naive–that make the book, and while this is being billed as an adult novel, its closest stylistic relative is S.E. Hinton's YA classic The Outsiders.” –Publishers Weekly
“Hyde writes evocatively of the visceral nature of first love. Her characters are well developed, and she describes settings economically but effectively. The ending is realistic and satisfying. Short chapters make for a page-turning read and the distinct voices are sweet, soul-baring, and honest.”
–SchoolLibrary Journal
Praise for Love in the Present Tense
“If you love Pay It Forward, The Notebook, and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, this novel will envelop you.” —USA TODAY
"Fresh and distinct . . . Hyde excels in sentimental, utopian storytelling that transcends time, place and human weakness." —Publishers Weekly
“A magnificent storyteller.” —Denver Post Expand reviews