Lots of social issues sympathetically written about but I wasn’t convinced with the relationships between the characters. Especially I couldn’t feel very empathetic towards Anton and Edith so that made the story quite flat.

First I want to say that this is not my usual type of book. I prefer a more action oriented, fun type of book. This falls more into the "literature" category and at the risk of sounding superficial, I don't usually read novels that make me think. I usually prefer the destination over the journey, and have been known to skip boring sections here and there..

The reason I am exposing my superficiality (I like to think of it as escapism), I need to emphasize how I read every single word of this book. It was certainly more of a slow burn than I am used to. But I couldn't get enough of these characters. I felt absorbed into their life and I could picture it all.

This book took place in the 60s to begin with. I could picture the whole world. When the author talked about making popcorn and how it went back and forth and back and forth on the burner of the stove, I could picture the jiffy pop. (one thing that did jar me was when one of the characters told the other to pick a movie on tv. I recall that we had 3 channels back then - what was he picking from??) I knew these people, and I felt their emotions along with them.

I read this book in a day, because I just had to know what happened next. It took me on a beautiful life journey and I loved it all.

I want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC. This did not impact my review - as you can probably tell, I really loved this book.

My Name is Anton was not at all what I was expecting. Anton and Edith are from two completely different worlds, but Anton falls in love with her. When she leaves, it is clear that he is broken hearted. He learns about love and loss throughout this story and I enjoyed being able to see a part of his journey.

Once again this author has created an emotionally charged story. So many emotions came out reading this amazing book, I wasn't sure how I felt about the book in the first few chapters, but this book grabbed hold and wouldn't let go of my heart. This book touches on so many different topics, some could be triggering to certain people. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and was under no obligation to leave a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Anton and Edith form an unlikely friendship after Anton accidentally catches Edith being abused by her husband in the apartment across his. Although their situations couldn't be more different, they immediately form a strong bond as they help each other through a rough period in their lives.

Catherine Ryan Hyde develops characters who are genuine and real making it easy to connect with them on a deeper level. As their friendship evolves into a romance, both innocent and intense, and they support each other through tough times I couldn't help wanting the best for these characters. The storyline was realistic enough, bringing in an array of difficulties which couples face in their every day lives as Anton and Edith go on their separate ways only to reconnect years later. From a both platonic and romantic perspective their story was beautiful and pure.

A lot of the focus in My Name is Anton is on the characters - from Anton's dear grandmother and great-uncle to his belittling parents and his sweet dog. Unfortunately the plot suffered as a result and there were several times where I felt that it lacked depth. Towards the end the pace picked up speed but it felt as if the author decided to squeeze most major milestones into the few remaining chapters. At this point I was thoroughly enjoying the book and would have preferred an extended ending and conclusion to fit with the pace and style developed in the previous chapters.

This book is beautifully written and contains the perfect mixture of heartache and happiness interwoven in even the most bittersweet chapters. It was a joy to read and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy character driven books with a powerful message.

My Name is Anton by Catherine Ryan Hyde gave me all the feels. I loved this book! I've read one other book by Ms Hyde and it has remained with me. When an author can write books that are this heartfelt it is not only their gift but it is also a gift to us. I'm so glad she shares her gift with us.

This book deals with loss and second chances. Loss of life, loss of love, the chance to get the love back and what we do with those second chances. There are a lot of life lessons to learn and ponder. We all have them. Are we making the best choices? I sometimes wonder about that.

I fell in love with Anton. I'm sure his wife wouldn't be happy about that. I hope she understands. She understands a lot. These are two tender, loving and caring individuals. They have learned to draw the line in the sand when necessary. That is what I love about them. They set their boundaries and don't apologize for it.

I appreciate a book that entertains and gives us something to think about long after we are finished reading. I hope you take a chance on this book. I think you will like it.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley for a fair and honest review. Thank you! It was an experience.

I love this story! Poor Anton. He has been through a very traumatic time and at 18, his parents decide to travel at Christmas, leaving him alone. I really came to love Anton but his parents.... not so much. The poor guy has to get through the death of his brother and the repercussions of all that, all without the support of the two people who should have been the most supportive of him. Can you tell I really didn't like his parents?

Anyway, that time alone at Christmas changes Anton's life after he witnesses something through the new telescope he received from his parents, right before they leave. Saving Edith from her abusive marriage was easy..... letting her go to protect her was the hardest thing he had ever done.

Catherine has once again written a beautiful, heart-wrenching story with wonderful, memorable characters who will steal your heart and soul. I know when I read one of her stories, that even though there will be tough times to work through, it will be a wonderful 'feel-good' experience when it's all said and done. My Name is Anton is a definite must-read for everyone!

Catherine Ryan Hyde has fast become a favorite author here at Caffeinated. My Name is Anton is a historical fiction about a young man, his dysfunctional family, loss, and most of all love. Come fall in love with Anton.

It’s December 10, 1965, and eighteen-year-old Anton is awakened by his mother. In just a few paragraphs Hyde offers us a glimpse into their home life, and the aftermath of a terrible tragedy. His parents are off on holiday for Christmas and want to do Christmas morning before the taxi arrives. They give Anton a gift that will set in course a chain of event that will forever change him.

This is the third book I’ve had the pleasure of reading by Hyde. Her characters are fleshed out, and the stories she provides are heartwarming. They shedding light on everything from family shame to prejudices.

When you read and listen to over two hundred books a year, you don’t always remember the character names and details, but that is not the case with Hyde’s books.

In this story we follow Anton as he helps Edith, a woman, fifteen years his senior, escape her abusive husband. They end up hiding in his family’s flat until the day after Christmas before she leaves town. We watch their friendship grow and witness Anton falling in love for the first time.

When she left Anton hit bottom but it forces him to face his fears, mourn and find himself again.

The story tugs at your heartstrings as we learn about the events that transpired during Anton’s seventeenth year and watch him mourn the loss of Edith before we fast forward to a chance encounter that changes everything.

I laughed, I cried, and I got angry. But more than anything I fell for this sweet, kindhearted young man who deserved all the happiness life can give.

Edith and Anton’s story was touching. At its core, it reminded us that love is love. It doesn’t come in perfect packages or meet everyone’s requirements. The only thing that truly matters is embracing it and making the most of each precious moment.

I adored his grandmother Maron and his Uncle. I wanted to throttle his mother, but Hyde helped us understand and see that not everyone processes life’s hardships and tragedies the same way. As a mother, I can’t forgive her. As someone who has suffered loss, I understood the need to lock it away.

Read it, listen, and gift it to the readers on your holiday list. Review first appeared on Caffeinated Reviewer.

My Name is Anton


A charming story of relationships, sacrifice and enduring love.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


SUMMARY
Anton Addison-Rice is eighteen and struggling with the death of his brother a year earlier. Anton was tragically wounded on the same day that his brother passed away. When his parent decide to take a vacation, he is all alone for the Christmas holidays. While pondering his fate one evening, he catches a glimpse of his neighbor Edith across the street and realizes that she is in danger. Anton becomes determined to help Edith leave her abusive marriage.

Frightened, Edith is wary of help. She knows what her husband can do, but when she needs a safe place to stay, she lets down her guard down. Over the course of the next ten days an unlikely friendship grows despite a fifteen year age difference. As Anton falls hopelessly in love, Edith fears both her husband finding her and Anton getting hurt. She must disappear without telling anyone where she’s going—even Anton.

If keeping Edith safe means letting her go, Anton will say goodbye forever. But what if one day their paths should cross again?



REVIEW
MY NAME IS ANTON is a charming story about relationships, sacrifice and enduring love set in 1965.

Anton character was both noble and principled. My favorite part of the story was Anton’s relationship with his uncle and grandmother, whose wisdom, advice and support served him well through the years.

Catherine Ryan Hyde’s writing is tight, clever and satisfying. She weaves a multifaceted tale of relationships, struggles and loss. Despite multiple layers of adversity faced by Anton the novel is a comfortable, easy and uplifting read.

Author Catherine Ryan Hyde has authored 40 books. She is an avid traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer with a speciality, like Anton, in astrophotography. Check out her website for her amazing photos. Her books have won numerous awards and she is the founder and former president of the Pay It Forward Foundation.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Publisher Lake Union Publishing
Published December 1, 2020
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

How to describe My Name is Anton? Mostly, it is a beautiful love story. But along the way we learn about mental illness, dealing with trauma, domestic violence, adoption and living with a disability. Edith and Anton start as strangers but quickly become friends and confidantes. Unfortunately they feel like they are not in a situation to move their relationship further. When they run into each other 15 years later, it is as if they were never apart. Their life together was not always easy but they seemed to make it perfect. This book was just what I needed.

This book is yet another reason that CRH is on my must read everything she ever writes list. Her writing style draws you in until you finally look up and look up and realize that half the day is gone and you don’t care enough to stop reading. She crafts real and true characters and tackles difficult subjects with grace, kindness and most importantly, with honestly. She doesn’t gloss over things that many books either wrap up in a bow or blatantly ignore altogether. Domestic abuse, mental illness, truly awful parenting that includes emotional abuse and neglect are just a few subjects included. We meet Anton, an 18 year old man who is trying to figure out how to move forward after two life altering incidents have altered the landscape of his world forever. His brother is gone and he is learning to live with a physical disability, while his parents act like he should just get over it and move forward and stop using the loss of his hand as a handicap and excuse. Mostly they just ignore it and him except when they're awful. It really is that they can’t handle it so treat him like a pariah. Their parenting style gets filed under the “how to never ever treat you child or anyone with a pulse” list. While spending Christmas alone because his parents left for a holiday, Anton discovers that a woman across the street from his apartment is being abused by her husband. In order to save herself and keep Anton safe she disappears without a trace. Years later they bump into each other and…..I have not given much as most of what I’ve shared can be gleaned from the editorial description and the first few pages so I will stop here and leave you with this…Everyone should know such selfless love and kindness in the life as that given by Anton. I hope that you enjoy this smart beautifully crafted book as much as I did.

This was my 1st Catherine Ryan Hyde novel and I was not disappointed. Anton and Edith both have such heartbreaking back stories. Hyde did a wonderful job putting emotion in the story. She gets you captivated by Antonio character from the beginning. I look forward to reading more novels by her in the future.

TW: Domestic violence, suicide, mental health

I received a free copy from the publisher for an honest review.

What do you do if you think someone is being abused??? Do you step in in some way or do you look the other way? This book will take you on an unusual path of salvation. You may be inspired to take a leap to help someone after reading about Anton.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

I found it hard to put this book down, and ended up reading it in one day! This is a book that will tug on your heart! Anton and Edith meet under difficult circumstances. When they must say goodbye, they aren’t sure they will ever see one another again. Imagine how happy they both are when they are able to reconnect years later. Their story has really only just begun. This is a book that brought out a variety of emotions. I loved following the story of these two.

Anton will do anything to save his neighbor Edith from her abusive husband. What he doesn't realize is how his love for her hits him like a train going 100 miles an hour even if some think it to be just young, puppy love. His selflessness does save her, but will he ever find that kind of love again or will he always be pining for Edith? A chance encounter with her 15 years later can finally put their whirlwind of a time together to the test.

This heartfelt and character driven novel really took me by surprise. I went into it thinking it was going to be a great historical fiction read and wasn't expecting it to be more about the romantic relationship between these two characters, but it definitely was a breath of fresh air. There isn't much action to be had in the book and to some I could see it being a slow and boring read, but for me it felt like a perfect palate cleanser as I've been reading a lot of thrillers and fast paced, plot driven novels lately. Anton and Edith felt like two real human characters who had flaws and hope and growth which I really appreciated, although is there really a guy out there like Anton because if so I would love to meet him!! It was a novel about the journey of these two people and I was happy to pick it up and experience their life and love.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Anton is 18, he’s gone through a very traumatic accident that took his brother and left him emotionally, physically & psychologically scarred. His parents decide they need to work on themselves and leave him alone for the holidays. Before they leave they gift him with a telescope, excited to give it a try, he mistakenly witnesses an act of violence. He wants to make sure the woman is ok. They strike up a friendship, Anton worries for Edith and what her husband is capable of. He offers her a safe haven and helps to plot her escape. He’s fallen in love with Edith but he must be selfless and let her go. Imagine 15 years later, the unexpected happens, Anton and Edith cross paths. She realizes she has loved him all this time, in spite of their age difference.

I’m usually not one for love stories but this a beautiful love story. One that doesn’t know age or time. Anton and Edith go on a journey together where they both make sacrifices, no matter how much it hurts, in the name of love. You find yourself rooting for them through their journey.

I received an advanced ecopy from netgalley for an honest review.

This book was sheer CRH perfection. I have read several Hyde books and loved them all. I loved Anton and Edith, and Anton's grandmother and uncle. I thought all four were characters that I would love to know in real life. If you want a book that makes you feel good through and through, pick up this book! You won't regret it.

Anton Addison-Hyde, 17, has had one of the worst years imaginable. While still trying to come to terms with the death of his beloved grandfather, he lost his brother seven months ago to a violent death, and his right hand while trying to prevent it. His parents, always emotionally absent for both of their sons, still stun Anton when they announce that they are leaving 12/10 to spend a few weeks in South America, leaving him alone over the Christmas holidays. They give him his Christmas gift, a telescope, before they leave. Fortunately for Anton, he has a wonderful grandmother and great-uncle who love, support and guide him. Without them, he would be rudderless.

As Anton is trying to adjust the telescope, a hard task for someone with one hand, gravity pulls it down, and he finds himself witnessing the assault of a young woman in an apartment across the street. He calls 911 to report it. Still concerned, he finds a way to meet he woman, Edith, 33, and let her know that he will help her leave her abusive husband; she only needs to ask. Over the course of the next two weeks days, they form a deep bond, and Anton falls in love for the first time. He selflessly puts Edith's safety first, and provides her with the means to leave town to parts unknown.

Their paths happen to cross fifteen years later, and each must decide if and how they want to continue the relationship.

This is the first book I've read by Catherine Ryan Hyde, but it certainly won't be my last! The author excels at exploring deep, personal relationships between believable, complex characters. Though there is little "action" within these pages, it is a deeply satisfying read which compelled me to keep turning page after page to find out what would happen. I highly recommend this book.

My thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read a copy of the book. Publication is set for 12/1/2020. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book for review.

Wow, I couldn’t put this book down. This is one of those stories where you feel you really get to know the characters and get attached to them. A beautiful, but not perfect, love story that I highly recommend.

So many nuggets of gold tucked into this story, ones that can easily carry over to real life. I really enjoyed this story and am glad it was recommended to me.

EXCERPT: . . . he centred himself over the telescope, and prepared to do a better job setting it in place.

Before he could, an image caught his eye: a white wall with a mantelpiece, and an abstract painting on the wall above it. It was captured in the eyepiece of the telescope, which was now pointing downward at the building across the street. Anthony's eye had accidentally hovered at just the right distance above the eyepiece. The scene was in perfect focus.

Realizing he was looking through somebody else's window, and uncomfortable with the idea, he moved to correct the angle of the scope quickly. Or, more accurately, he prepared to move. He gave his various limbs and their muscles a signal to move. But, before they could, something happened.

A figure streaked into the scene, clearly captured by Anthony's new telescope.

It appeared to be a woman, though it all happened very fast. She was running. Scrambling. Her body was bent forward, as if to accelerate getting out of the way of something. Something behind her. Her head was bent slightly forward, her arms raised, hands hovering behind her head as if to protect it.

Then, just as quickly, a male hand and arm entered the view. It was a bare arm, save for the short sleeve of a white undershirt. It was noticeably hairy. In a disconnected and more or less inadvertent thought, it struck Anthony that he owned a very good telescope, because it could reveal hair on the arm of a man across the street.

The man's hand grabbed the woman by her hair.

Anthony sucked in air with an audible gasp as he watched the woman's head jerked backward. It was a breathtakingly violent gesture.

Then the woman disappeared from his view. Backward. Pulled back out of the scene. By her hair.

ABOUT 'MY NAME IS ANTON': It’s 1965, and life has taken a turn for eighteen-year-old Anton Addison-Rice. Nearly a year after his brother died in a tragic accident, Anton is still wounded—physically and emotionally. Alone for the holidays, he catches a glimpse of his neighbor Edith across the street one evening and realizes that she’s in danger.

Anton is determined to help Edith leave her abusive marriage. Frightened and fifteen years Anton’s senior, Edith is slow to trust. But when she needs a safe place to stay, she lets down her guard, and over the course of ten days an unlikely friendship grows. As Anton falls hopelessly and selflessly in love, Edith fears both her husband finding her and Anton getting hurt. She must disappear without telling anyone where she’s going—even Anton.

If keeping Edith safe means letting her go, Anton will say goodbye forever. Or so he believes. What would happen, though, if one day their paths should cross again?

MY THOUGHTS: Okay, so now I know what all the fuss is about. I read a book by this author a few months back, and it was okay, nothing special, and couldn't really understand why everyone was raving about her writing. Now I do.

My Name is Anton is a deeply emotional read. Anton is grieving. In a short space of time he has lost his beloved grandfather, his brother and his right hand. Then into his life comes Edith. Anton couldn't save his brother, but he can, he hopes, save her.

The story spans fifty-five years, starting in 1965 when Anton is eighteen, and Edith thirty-three. This is a story of great personal strength, of grief, love, loss, sacrifice, moral dilemmas and doing what is right. Not what is right for yourself, but what is right.

There is a wonderful mix of characters in this book. Anton's grandmother Marion, and his Uncle Gregor, a psychiatrist, are towers of strength and fonts of wisdom. At the other end of the spectrum are Anton's parents, Abel and Vera, who are horrible, self-obsessed people, more concerned with 'what would people think!' than about the welfare of their only surviving child.

Ryan-Hyde touches on a lot of subject matter - suicide, mental illness, alcoholism, domestic abuse, disability, child welfare and adoption - but weaves them all together seamlessly to produce a compelling narrative that I devoured in one sitting.

I will definitely be reading more from this author.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.4

#MyNameisAnton #NetGalley

'Looking directly at a painful truth hurts less than being stalked by it.'

THE AUTHOR: Catherine Ryan Hyde is an American author born in 1955. Hyde has found success both as a novelist and short story writer in the U.S and the U.K, winning numerous honors and awards in the process.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of My Name is Anton by Catherine Ryan-Hyde for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage