Catherine Ryan Hyde books are easy, joyful reads for me even when they confront difficult topics. I find the writing to be effortless and the story just flows. This isn't my favorite of hers but I enjoy the respite they give me and the time spent with folks who understand the complexity of the human condition.

Maggie Blount is a physician who travels to areas to assist after disasters occur. Her relationship with her daughter is on shaking ground as they resent her being away so much. They have became so selfish and ungrateful that she is shocked. When she responds to a disaster in Louisiana she encounter two sisters that have been orphaned from the storm along with a dog. When plans to take them to their grandparents falls through Maggie sees no other option than to foster them. When she tells her daughters they move out to their fathers. Maggie is wondering whether these two orphan girls can bring her family back together or tear it apart permanently.
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I am a recent appreciator of Catherine Ryan Hyde's work, and from what I've read so far, her novels are uplifting and heartfelt, with satisfying endings. These are not the type of books I typically read, but they are wonderful comfort. "Rolling Toward Clear Skies" is the story of a mother and practitioner at Doctors on Wheels, providing medical assistance for people in need during disasters. Through her services, she comes in contact with two abandoned teenage girls and a puppy (heartstrings tugged). Her own teenage daughters are entitled and self-involved, so the challenge for her, is to try to blend them all into one cohesive family. Recommended for fans of Catherine Ryan Hyde, and readers who need a pick-me-up feel-good story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
#RollingTowardClearSkies
#NetGalley

Often I think of a good book as something that’s immersive and feels like real life, but this had a different feel. Each person was a caricature or an archetype. They acted like characters in a play, arriving on stage and saying their lines. There was a lot of therapy-speak. It was almost more like “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone” than general fiction.

The more I read, though, the more I liked the characters in a play thing. It made me feel like I’d gone out to see a show. The therapy was decent advice. I’m not sure the characters were served well by the way they were portrayed, whether as spoiled “bratty” teenagers or ones that were “sincere and polite and appreciative and kind,” but at least they’re fictional?

Having recently discovered Catherine Ryan Hyde and read her full back catalogue under a few months, I was thrilled to receive an early copy of her latest novel. Unfortunately, I was really disappointed by this one. Maggie works for doctors on wheels, offering medical care where needed. After a natural disaster she meets two displaced teenagers who lost their parents. She takes them home with a view to adoption, much to the horror of her two biological children. It’s an overly sentimental story and the dialogue between the family is just too unbelievable. Not one of CRH’s best.

[NetGalley Read#3]

This was very nice. A well written, uplifting, heartwarming, (at times) heartbreaking and all round good book.
It deals with the contemporary setting quite well especially with the social media amd cyberbullying aspect towards the end. Also teenagers are not written like, you know, complete idiots. Rather, this makes a case for them and about accepting mistakes.

Characters are well written and realistic.
We all know people like these. People like Maggie (and Alex and the Doctors Bishop) who are trying to do good while grappling with their own problems. We all know the spoiled teenagers (though we never really see or want to see why they are that way. This book does a good job of exploring that).
I really liked Maggie. I liked her (nearly) infinite patience with people. Wish more people were like that.

Recommended. 👍

This is the first book I have read from this author. Will definitely be checking out more of her previous (and upcoming) books.

[Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this book]

Emotional and heartfelt. I enjoyed reading about the main character mom and how she does her best to parent her daughters and her new foster children. It’s complex and the story does it justice. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Rolling Toward Clear Skies by C.R. Hyde is a wonderful uplifting book so worth giving it a try.
The book is published by Lake Union Publishing and is a stand alone.
Maggie is a divorced mother of 2 teenage daughters and works as doctor at a practice. Together with her boyfriend Alex, she founded Doctors on Wheels a nonprofit who goes to disaster areas to provide medical assistance to the needing.
On one of her assignements she picks up three strays. And all their lives are about to change forever. Two orphaned teenagers, one puppy and two biological offsprings later it seems she's drowning in drama and karma. They struggle to make their patchwork family work.
But all is well in the end. To come to this point it took a lot of work and growing for all of them.
A beautiful story, literally unputdownable, a quiet book that stays with you long after finishing this gem of a story.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the copy of Rolling Toward Clear Skies by Catherine Ryan Hyde. It was such an emotional read I had tears in my eyes because the characters felt so real. I was so invested I read this nonstop to find out if everyone got the ending they deserved. If you’re looking for a satisfying, emotional read with characters that come alive on the pages, don’t miss this book! 5 stars.