What a great story! Two very unlikely characters come together by chance and help each other. I enjoyed their adventure! I can see Allie and Bea as a book discussion selection. I can also see it used in classrooms.

A definite 10 star novel!
Humor, drama, suspense, human emotions are to be found in abundance against a beautiful background of the Pacific coast. This is a wonderful story with great lessons for living an honest and upright journey.
" The person you were is not necessarily the person you turn out to be." This sums up a wonderful plot.
I just adored this story.

I received this book "Allie and Bea" from Netgalley for my honest review. This book is about two people who are thrown together. The story is very touching and at times funny as Allie and Bea go on their adventure. This was another book that I could not put down and it was very well written. It was a heartfelt novel that will get you to think about people and take note of the things you may take for granted in your life. A fun read! review on Goodreads and Amazon (ellie).

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I love Catherine Ryan Hyde's books - they are just great character stories that always make you feel good at the end. Plus, there is always a lot of wisdom in her writing that leads you to think about being a better person without coming across sappy or preachy.

Her latest is so exception - Allie and Bea are both characters who meet when they are experiencing the worst crises of their lives. Allie is a teenager whose world gets turned upside down when her parents are both arrested for tax evasion crimes and taken to jail. When there is no short-term foster placement for her, she is put in a group home where she meets up with violence from another resident. Running away, she realizes that she has nowhere to go.

Bea is an elderly woman just scraping by on her monthly Social Security checks. When she falls victim to the infamous IRS scam and loses her money, she is forced to leave her trailer and take off in her van.

These two people meet and are forced to confront trust issues and start relying on each other. This is just a good story about faith in people and standing up for what you believe is right.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Bea is a struggling widow who was scammed out of all the money she had in the bank. When this happened she lost her house. She packed her belongings and her cat Phyllis in her late husband's van from the old bakery. This was going to be her new home.

One day both of Allie's parents were arrested for tax fraud. This turned her world upside down. She was taken to a group home and things did not turn out well. She ran away with her friend Jasmine as soon as she could.

This is a story of how two people not related become family. They learn how to trust, depend, share, live with and love one another.

This is my first book from this author that I have read. I am looking forward to reading many more!

Bea is an elderly woman living month-to-month on her Social Security check and barely able to make ends meet. When she is scammed out of the last of her money, she devises a plan: she’ll pack up her van and live as best she can on the road. But she’s decided that the world owes her now, and as far as she’s concerned, anything goes.

Allie’s parents are arrested and she is left to fend for herself in a group home. Allie isn’t street-wise, so living within the system is difficult for her to understand. She has a great sense of right and wrong, and has trouble when others cross that line. When her life is put in danger, she runs, and circumstances bring her right in Bea’s path.

Allie and Bea is a heartwarming story of two strangers being thrust together and trying to make the best of it. Author Catherine Ryan Hyde is an expert at creating real-life characters and putting them into extraordinary circumstances and then seeing how they cope. Bea is tired of being pushed around by society after working for years and being left with nothing. Allie has never thought twice about her upper-class upbringing until it all comes crashing down around her. Together, the two learn what is most important in life as they build a bond of friendship between them.

This story is a definite must-read.

When I have been reading a lot of 'heavy' books and need to lift my spirit to remember that good things can happen in this world of trials and conflict, I am glad to have Catherine Ryan Hyde to turn to. Her newest book, Allie and Bea, did not disappoint.

Hyde's books have a common thread: imperfect people with real life problems, often mired in anger or despair, are lifted through an empowering, healthy relationship.

This novel begins with Bea, a widow in her senior years, living on Social Security that can not cover her basic needs. Scammed out of her meagre savings, she has reached rock bottom and becomes a homeless vagrant living out of a panel van.

Enter Allie, a fifteen year old on the run for her life. When Allie's upper class parents opted for lifestyle over paying the IRS they ended up in jail. Allie is taken under Child Protective Service and placed in a group home for delinquents until a foster home opened up.

Allie has high standards for herself and holds others to them. It brings her into conflict with a violent girl, and fearing for her life, Allie joins a runaway girl only to find herself faced with a human trafficker.

Allie flags down Bea's van and forces her way into Bea's life, and in nine days together on the lam, Bea is brought to reevaluate her entire life and Allie finds someone who will stand by her when her family has failed her.

I enjoy how Hyde takes contemporary social issues and through likeable characters elicits an emotional understanding from readers. Yes, her endings are neat and sweet, but that is why I turn to her books. Sometimes we all need a wish fulfillment tale.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Bea is in her 70's living alone and barely making ends meet when she is the victim of a telephone scam. She packs up her belongings and loads up her van and starts driving. Allie is 15 when both her parents are arrested for tax fraud and she is sent to a group home. Her roommate is violent and threatens Allie so she runs away with another girl. Allie runs away from a very dangerous situation and right into Bea! They end up driving together along the West Coast. At first things are a bit tricky but they soon fall into friends and helping each other. This is a story of family and what makes a family. It shows you that you don't have to be blood related to be family and love and support each other. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

LOVED it! Every new book by Catherine becomes my favorite. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review.

Thanks Netgalley. What a lovely book, great characters and such a heartfelt book. Please Please read reviewers

I received an e-galley of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Bea is a senior citizen living in a trailer after her husband has died who is scammed and loses her life savings. She decides to leave her trailer and live in her van, scamming people along the way to get some money. Allie is a privileged teenager who's parents are arrested and ends up in a group home where she runs into big trouble with her roommate. Another girl helps her to run away but that ends up even worse for her when she ends up almost being sold into a sex trafficking ring. When escaping from her kidnapper, she throws herself into Bea's car, begging her for help. These two form the unlikeliest of friendships as they drive together up the coast of California to Washington.
A book to definitely recommend to friends.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book.

It is a road journey of Bea, a mature lady who gets scammed out of her small savings and not thinking clearing decides to take to the road in her van. She then meets Allie, a young girl, who has escaped from a dreadful situation starting with her parents being taken away to jail.

Then their road journey starts. They both start with set views on life and attitudes. The beauty of the story is how they both learn to be more flexible and tolerant in their views to others. The learning curve that happens between them shows how the young can learn from the old and vice versa. They meet some wonderful characters on the way. I wondered how it would resolve and it did.

I feel it is a very reflective book and enjoyed the well drawn characters that Catherine always defines in her books.

I highly recommend this book.

Catherine Ryan Hyde is a wonderful author with many many books to her credit. I'm so glad I was able to read this advance copy of Allie and Bea from NetGalley. Bea's life changes dramatically and she finds herself homeless. Allie's parents are arrested and she finds herself in real danger. Together these two decide to continue their adventure and in the process they learn so much about themselves, the world and their place in it. Bea realizes how small her life was and how she limited herself in so many ways. She is a real and genuine character who overcomes a lot of fears and misconceptions. Allie, a privileged and mature 15 year old also learns about the ugly realities of being on her own and how fortunate she was. She also has to change her views on honesty and loyalty and right from wrong. This author always paints the scenery so beautifully, in this case all the way to the boardwalks of Puget Sound. Here's one of her beautiful descriptions: "She sat on a driftwood log with Casper, watching the light of the beach change with the rising sun, watching the girl lie on her belly in the glass, sorting through its wonders. Even the sound was different, Bea noted. As each wave washed up onto the shore, the glass made a noise that sand cannot make, a light tinkling that had begun to sound like music to Bea."

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley for my honest review.
This novel was gripping right from the beginning! The characters were relatable even if the events that happened to them weren't. I enjoyed the bond the Allie and Bea shared and their great adventure was perfectly entertaining. It is a well written book that flows beautifully. Allie finds her voice and discovers who she is and Bea discovers the person she wants to be after years of convincing herself of what she couldn't do. My only gripe with this book is the end, it came too quickly! I highly recommend this novel!

Catherine Hyde Ryan writes beautiful books with relevant and important messages imparted to the reader without seeming preachy in the least. What a fabulous skill to have! As Allie and Bea begins, Bea, a tough woman in her seventies, has been fleeced of her remaining money by a con man. Left with few options, Bea decides to live in her van and make her way up the coast of California to try and find a place to reside. Meanwhile, Allie, a strong-willed teenager, has just been thrown into the CPS system because her wealthy parents have been arrested for tax fraud. Escaping from a harrowing ordeal, she and Bea encounter each other and eventually decide to team up and take an adventure up the Pacific Coast.

Initially as I began reading this novel, I was unsure that Bea and Allie were very realistically crafted. As I continued reading, I decided that I was naïve and that sadly there are people are in similar situations to one or both of them; I just do not encounter them much in my life. As a parent of two teens and a pre-teen, the fate of Allie’s character significantly weighed on my mind. The options available to her were few, and I found that so depressing and somewhat scary. Likewise, with elderly parents thankfully still around, I also empathized with Bea as she struggled with her lack of income and resources and how she could make her way in today’s world. After I finished Allie and Bea, I certainly hope that I will be more sympathetic and open to seeing and helping those individuals I encounter day-to-day that may need a helping hand.

My two favorite aspects of the book were Hyde’s focus on the thoughtfulness of humanity when people are given a chance to be kind and helpful and the relationship that Bea and Allie developed with each other. Family is not always those people who are related to each other but instead can be individuals who encounter each other along the path of life and connect. Allie and Bea’s relationship is the perfect example of the latter.

Hyde has written an incredibly thought-provoking novel that will stay with me for a long time, and I definitely recommend Allie and Bea to everyone. Thanks to Lake Union and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved meeting Allie and Bea. Catherine Ryan Hyde always makes me feel like I'm in the story. Great book that helps the reader remember that family comes in various forms and often in times of need.

Excellent story! Looking forward to reading more by this author!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I loved this beautiful book. The relationship between Allie and Bea is so moving and readable. I've already recommended to several friends!

Bea has lost everything in a telephone scam. With her husband gone, she is forced out of her home and leaves for the West coast in an old van and her cat. Allie is a fifteen year old living in a group home after her parents have been jailed for white-collar crime. She fears for her life in the violent setting and makes the decision to run away. Then her path crosses Bea’s. These two women have been given the crap end of the stick in life and they’re not about to trust each other, but as they travel west, something happens and the two form a fragile bond, that’s not quite friendship, at least not at first. This is a real feel good story about two damaged souls who find the courage to start over and form their own family