This is the story of 17 year old Raymond Jaffe who encounters a 92 year old blind woman in his building who asks him, “Have you seen Luis Velez?” This simple question is the start of an unusual friendship that teaches Raymond how to be comfortable in his own skin, with his family and about the world.

Raymond is an awkward young man and Millie or Mrs. G, as Raymond calls her, shows him his strengths through their conversations and shared experiences. Mrs. G is a spunky woman who is weighed down by her past but “sees” the world around her clearly.

Just as in Allie & Bea, an accidental meeting between two very different people develops into a friendship based on respect and the need to be understood. Raymond develops a strong bond with Mrs. G that starts out with just helping someone who is alone in the world. But Raymond comes to find his voice and his strength from knowing Mrs. G. It changes his definition of what family is and shows him what can grow through kindness and moving out of your comfort zone to help someone else.

This book, for me, was a roller coaster of emotions. I cried, laughed and cheered throughout the book. The characters are very real and relatable. This a wonderfully warm and touching story.

This is the fourth book I have read by Catherine Ryan Hyde and like the others, it has opened my eyes to things I didn’t see before. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
Thank you to #Netgalley, #LakeUnionPublishing for approving my request. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Have You Seen Luis Velez? surprised me in the best of ways. I was interested by the idea of the story but did not imagine myself becoming as invested in it as I did. Add in the fact I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump and have not been wowed for a while, and this one gripped me good.

Have You Seen Luis Velez? sucked me in from the very first page. I found myself hooked and powered through the book in a single sitting as I needed to see how everything came together. There were plenty of aspects introduced throughout, and each time something new came up I found myself sucked in ever deeper. It dealt with much more than I’d expected, pulled out more emotions than I’d imagined, and I could not get enough of this book.

It’s a simply written story, but the messages within are not simple. It makes you look at yourself and the world around you, it makes you stop to consider the way in which we’re all connected, and it leaves you more aware of the world upon finishing. It’s an easy story to read, but it has a big impact.

Without a doubt, Have You Seen Luis Velez? is well worth the read.

What a wonderful book! I have read and mostly really enjoyed a few by this author previously, so jumped at the chance of an ARC, not really worrying about what it was about. Well this is her best yet, a moving story about an unusual friendship between two very special characters.

Raymond, a sixteen year old from New York who feels he doesn’t fit in with his new family after his parents’ divorce, meets an elderly lady, Millie, who lives in the same building and is asking passing strangers whether they have seen her friend Luis. Discovering that she is blind and near starvation because she has been unable to get out to the bank and shops since Luis disappeared, kind-hearted Raymond steps in to help, and decides to track down the missing man, without telling her, meeting a series of remarkable people who will each help him in unexpected ways.

This was a hugely emotional read, the kind that makes one question what we would do in each situation. Raymond seemed almost too good to be true - we know from the start when he rescues a kitten and readily gives up his food, time and money to help others that he is almost preternaturally kind, but others can sense it too, as strangers help him on his quest. The contrast between the ultimate antagonist, who is portrayed by the prejudiced society they live in as a “good person”, is cleverly done - I don’t want to spoil it by explaining. Some might find it overly sentimental but I loved it.

Ryan Hyde is a brilliant storyteller even though the writing is so simple - it really is all about the characters, from wise old Millie living the life she thought she didn’t deserve, to Raymond’s mother, battling to keep her family straight while not understanding her son at all, to the cynical but kind-hearted lawyers who want to see justice done in spite of an innately biased system. There’s friendship, generosity, family love and quantum physics, as well as sadness, unfairness and racism, but in the end it’s hope and kindness that win.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc which allowed me to give an honest review. Have you seen Luis Velez is available now.

5 stars

Catherine Ryan Hyde is an author I have been eyeing for years, and I have about a half dozen of her novels downloaded on my kindle. Finally, after seeing some superb reviews for Have You Seen Luis Velez? I decided to finally dive in and read one of her books.

This is a shining little gem. It is simply written, but laden with wisdom and life-affirming inspiration. It’s a tale about Raymond, a 16-year-old boy with an unhappy home life (“I just don’t fit in”), and his 92-year-old neighbor Mildred Gutermann (Mrs. G), whose helper of four years, Luis Velez, has disappeared. Raymond and Mrs. G meet serendipitously at just the right time for them both. This is their story, and I will leave it to you, dear reader, to discover it on your own. Just know that even though it will impact teenagers, it is not too late for anyone to learn from these two special people.

This book teaches us that though we all have burdens to bear, this is not a reason to give up. Life is messy. It is difficult, it is heartbreaking, it can be seemingly unbearable. But it is also beautiful, glorious, and absolutely a gift to hang on to for as long as we can. Take this journey with Raymond and Mrs. G and see how together they find their way.

I just have to mention this. Books get extra credit from me if they teach me something. This book taught me several things, but the most remarkable is how a major societal ill can be explained by quantum physics. No kidding. And Ms. Ryan tells us very clearly how this works.

If you are looking for a quick read with all the feelings and lessons to share, this is the book for you.

Thank you Net Galley, Lake Union Publishing, and Ms. Catherine Ryan Hyde for an advanced review copy of this book. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

If you need an uplifting book, that invites you to reflect on life and your role in it, then pick this one up.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Raymond who feels as a seventeen year old like a bit of a misfit in his family. His step Dad doesn't really accept him, his mother listens then forgets and his Dad  has a new wife that doesn't really like Raymond's Dad paying any attention to him.

How Raymond turned out like he has is beyond me because he has the kindest of hearts. And one day he is rewarded because an older woman of ninety or so "sees" him. She is blind but when she calls out a question, Raymond stops  to check on what that's all about. How many people would stop and check? Too few most likely.

And so begins an unusual relationship between Raymond and Mrs G. At first I thought everyone needs a Raymond in their world. But then... a Luis Velez is good too and really Mrs G. is just so full of wisdom. So they all enriched me and each other.

This is really a very heart warming book, it speaks to what is wrong in our world today in so many ways. Life can be hard and challenging, people experience prejudice, hate, loneliness, helplessness, injustice and racial non acceptance. What is the answer? Well Raymond and Luis are answers. And they invite you and me to be answers.

An elderly, blind woman is alone for 17 days with no help when she meets a young man in the hallway.
This meeting leads to great things for both of them!
She says nice things to him and notices him like no-one has before.
This starts the Luis Project.

If we have someone in our lives who brings up the wonderful it is like flames in the darkness.
We all need someone who pulls us out of ourselves and sees what matters, what is significant.
Objective --Subjective Reality;
the current events show we need to think about this
This is a book we need today. This is your new assignment/required reading.
I got so interested I could not stop reading!

Let's have a block party
to celebrate the release of this book!!

I am a fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde and this book met all my expectations!! What a beautifully weaved story of not fitting in, being accepted, love, loss and redemption..
When you are feeling the world is so dysfunctional, reading this gives me hope that there are truly good people in the world after all!!!

A first for me reading this author and this book did not disappoint! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest review. All I can say is WOW. An unbelievable heartwarming story that totally took me by surprise. A young boy and older lady form a bond that is so incredibly touching it melts your heart. I couldn't put this book down! This is a book we all need to read! This book shows the goodness that can live in our world! I look forward to reading so much more from this author she really found a place in my heart.

Loved this sweet heartwarming book and characters
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Once again, Catherine has written a beautiful, touching story with interesting and caring characters. I love starting one of her books because I know I am going to immediately be swept up in the richness of the story. This one did not disappoint. I devoured it!

Raymond feels like he doesn't fit in anywhere and Millie feels isolated in her small apartment because of her blindness, her fear, and her regrets. In unlikely circumstances, the two become just what the other one needs. As Raymond goes on the search for Luis Velez, he comes to realize that he is just fine the way he is and Millie discovers there truly is goodness in the world.

The journey they each traveled is what makes this story so memorable. I loved both of them and really wanted them to find happiness, acceptance, and friends. Raymond and Millie are characters I won't soon forget—I loved them and this story so much! I highly recommend Have You Seen Luis Velez?.

'Never be afraid to look, Raymond. It's always better to look. Whatever you're afraid of, turn toward it, not away. Once you do that, it loses all its power over you.'

Such a beautiful story! Grab this one my friends and make sure the tea is hot, the cats are purring and that you have a great stock of tissue paper( Kleenex) on hand. When Raymond, an African American teenager befriends the elderly blind woman in his apartment building to help her find a friend, Luis Velez, a tale of friendship, family, and forgiveness begins.

I absolutely adored this book and I cannot wait to hear from other readers about their own reactions to it. But I am also feeling fiercely protective , because I won't be able to hear a harsh word about it. This is a similar reaction to my reading of Dancing on Broken Glass which I still believe is one of the best women's fiction books. There is just much love in this one too that my heart just soars.

Raymond and Mrs. G reminded me of the 1971 film Harold and Maude , in each case you have a younger man forming this relationship with an older woman and those around them cannot understand it. Although I should probably reassure everyone now that Raymond and Mrs G are strictly a grandson/grandmother type of story. The journey they take to try and find Luis was completely compelling and I felt really sad to close the door as the two characters faded into the literary sunset.

I may just have to crown this book a favorite of 2019


Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads review published 19/05/19
Expected publication 21/05/19

This was my first Catherine Ryan Hyde read, and it was absolutely fantastic! I can't wait to read more by her! Such an inspiring story! Definite five star book!

I loved this heartwarming, inspiring book. It's a story of a young teen trying to find connections in the mostly negative world he lives in. He's unsure of himself, his worth, and his purpose.. Rather than retreat within himself or give in to despair, he takes a risk and tries to help an elderly blind woman in his apartment building. The story is rich with emotion. The characters' interactions restore one's faith in basic human kindness. There are many nuggets of wisdom sprinkled throughout that reiterate the fact that, though horrible things happen to all of us, there is more good in the world than we might think.

Lindas Book Obsession Reviews "Have You Seen Luis Velez?" by Catherine Ryan Hyde, May 2019

Catherine Ryan Hyde, Author of "Have You Seen Luis Velez" has written a unique, enthralling, emotional, intriguing, captivating and heartwarming novel.  The Genre for this story is Fiction. This is also a Beautiful Coming of Age Story.  I love everything about this wonderful book. Catherine Ryan Hyde is an amazing storyteller, and her vivid and colorful descriptions of her characters and the landscape are so realistic. The story takes place in and around New York City. The author describes her dramatic characters as complex and complicated.

Raymond Jaffe, 17 years old feels like an outcast in his family.  His best friend is moving away, and his other friend is a kitten that he rescues. He is in his building when an older woman asks him if he or anyone has seen Luis Velez? As Raymond is speaking to Mildred Gutermann, who is 92 years old and blind, he realizes she has no caretaker. Raymond starts helping Mildred and is looking for Luis Velez, who had been helping Mildred. Meanwhile, Raymond and Mildred are becoming good friends.

It seems there are a number of  Luis Velez's' in the phone book. Raymond goes and visits some of them. There are some interesting encounters, but Raymond has yet to find the correct Luis Velez.

I appreciate that Catherine Ryan Hyde discusses the importance of kindness and friendship. Also discussed are the different prejudices and biases that are based on wealth and poverty, and religion and race.  The author writes about love, acceptance, friendship, family, kindness, love, and hope. I highly recommend this amazing book.

Oh my gosh. Have You Seen Luis Velez is one of, if not the most, heartwarming novels I have read in a long time. The characters are so very well developed, they're interesting and seem like people I'd enjoy meeting. They felt so real I wouldn't be surprised if one showed up at my door.

The quest Raymond went on to help Mildred was just incredible. He felt like an outcast and someone who didn't fit in, even in his own family and he just completely took on Mildred's needs, helping her in any way possible. I loved meeting Luis Velez again and again and wondering if this one was the right one.

Of course, I wanted to shake Raymond's mother and stepfather, but that's another story entirely. If you have lost faith in the goodness of people, need a pick-me-up or just an old-fashioned feel good story, this is the book for you. Unless I'm very much mistaken, some film company will be knocking on Catherine Ryan Hyde's door soon. As for me, I can't wait to see this made into a movie.

Thank you very much to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for approving my request for an ARC of this wonderful story. All thoughts in this review are my own and are freely given.

Much like one of Catherine Ryan-Hyde’s previous novels, PAY IT FORWARD, this offering too provides a look at the good and evil in people as well as the actions of ordinary people reacting in extra-ordinary ways.

HAVE YOU SEEN LUIS VELEZ captures with profoundly moving insight the development of an unlikely friendship born of a serendipitous meeting. The powerful bond that develops between compassionate 17 year old Raymond, a boy with no friends and little understanding of his own place in the world, and his neighbor Millie, a 92 year old blind woman who is now in need of immediate assistance since losing the man who regularly looked in on her, is heartwarming and revealing of the inner needs of each character.

Their chance meeting ultimately sets in motion a search that results in a look at judgement, tribalism, social injustice as well as the blossoming of unlikely friendships that culminate in new, but unrelated, families born of chance, determination and common goals that can often result in an unprecedented wave of human kindness.

A narrative that is profoundly moving and expertly told. It will linger in your memory long after you close the book.

This book was CRH at her best. It broke my heart at the beginning but Raymond, Mrs. G and all of the many characters in this book put it back together even better than it was before. I was dreading the ending. I thought for sure it was going to end disastrously...but then I ended up loving it. 5 stars yet again to Catherine Ryan Hyde and I can't wait to dig into her backlist!

Have You Seen Luis Velez? by Catherine Ryan Hyde is a novel that completely sweeps you off your feet. The characters are relatable and interesting, while the story is constantly evolving and intriguing at the same time. Also, the book examines the theme of sight and perception on many levels that it really makes you think long after reading.

What makes Have You Seen Luis Velez? so fascinating is the mesh of so many characters that are of differing abilities, ages, and backgrounds. The book is told from the perspective of Raymond, a black teenager who is finding it hard to fit in at home and at school. His quest to help a 92 year old blind neighbour turns into an unlikely friendship, and helps Raymond see the world and its people in a completely new light. Each of the characters has their flaws, but the fact that they are all so eager to see things from one another’s perspectives without prejudice makes the book a real learning experience.

❀ FANTASTIC COMING OF AGE NOVEL

As the plot moves forward, Raymond meets quite a few different people named Luis Velez. As he continues to track down the whereabouts of his friend’s caretaker, Raymond learns new information about the world and how he fits into it. Also, there are so many layers to the novel that when the plot moves past what happened to Luis Velez and what happens next, Raymond seems to come full circle in his understanding. This is a fantastic coming of age novel that should definitely be considered a YA crossover.

❀ MANY LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

Catherine Ryan Hyde has definitely created a novel that teaches its readers about quite a few different ways of seeing the world. At the forefront is perceiving without the use of sight, and there are many lessons to be learned from both Millie and Raymond. It is both heart-warming and shocking to read at times. One that I highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Catherine Ryan Hyde for my advanced copy of Have You Seen Luis Velez.
What a brilliant book and I loved it.
Raymond Jaffe is a mixed race 16 year old young man he lives with his mum, step father and three younger sisters. His father has married again, he stays with them every second weekend and his fathers new wife can't be bothered with him. He feels unwanted, unloved and a burden to everyone.
Raymond struggles to fit in at school, he has one friend who's moving away and he's resigned to the fact that he will be alone.
One day on his way to school his elderly neighbor Mildred Gutermann is standing out the front of her apartment trying to get someone to help her, she's 92, house bound, blind and desperate.
Her friend Luis has assisted her for 4 years but for some reason Luis Velez hasn't been to visit her and he hasn't called her to tell her why? Luis provided support for her go to the bank, pay her bills, go food shopping and he was her only link to the world outside of her apartment.
After a couple of weeks she is getting very desperate and is down to her last half a can of soup.
Raymond decides to help his neighbor with her errands and also solve the mystery of what happened to Luis Velez?
Along the way he saves an abandoned kitten, meets some very interesting people, makes new friends and eventually he finds out what happened to Luis.
Have You Seen Luis Velez is a beautiful book it's about relationships, compassion, kindness, justice and it's about a young man finding his way in life and his unique relationship with his 92 year old neighbor.
I loved the book, it takes you back to being an insecure teenager and I gave it 5 stars.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!

Catherine Ryan Hyde is an amazing author. There's no doubt about that.

Raymond feels like an outcast in his own family, school, everywhere. He develops a friendship with a 92 year old blind woman named Mildred who is currently looking for her caretaker who has disappeared.
There are some important life lessons in this book, as all her books follow the same tradition.

Great read.