This was a great book by a great author. My emotions were all over the board with a spouses death, a daughter hating her father and a wife afraid of her husband. I went from sad to mad to scared. What a ride. And then you add the puppies and I just laughed and smiled. What a wonderful weave of a story. Another wonderful read. Enjoy!

Thank you to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for the opertunity to read the ARC of Seven Perfect Things. This is my personal opinion. Omg, this is another best seller for Catherine Ryan Hyde for sure! I loved it! It was tragic,heartbreaking but also uplifting and beautiful. This story covers some difficult topics of animal abuse and spousal/ family abuse, but done tastefully and with sensitivity. Overall the love and caring shows thru.

I loved Seven Perfect Things! I love Catherine Ryan Hyde! And I really loved that this was a story that showed how therapeutic animals can be for people! I always feel better about life when I finish one of her books!

4.5★s
“I just think it’s odd how we parse out our empathy. Why we only have empathy for those who remind us most of ourselves. I’m not saying I don’t understand it. Sure, it’s easy to have empathy for someone who’s just like us. It comes naturally. I just think it’s a shame we can’t take it a bit further. I can’t help wondering what the world would be like if our empathy muscle were a bit more developed.”

Seven Perfect Things is a novel by award-winning American author, Catherine Ryan Hyde. Thirteen-year-old Abigail Hubble saves seven puppies that are thrown into the river, and when she runs out of options, she installs them in a shed behind a seemingly-abandoned hunting cabin in the hills. She knows there’s no point in bringing them home: her father would object simply because having them would make her happy. She breaks into her savings to buy what they need, and spends all her free time at the cabin.

At fifty-two, Elliot Colvin has just lost his wife to a long illness, and he’s all at sea, overwhelmed by grief. “The grief made the simplest movements of life feel like more than he could bear, and he had no idea how long he would have to live this way ... he might have forty years of life left. How many days was that without her?”

Once an avid hunter, his wife’s passing put that into a new perspective, but a colleague suggests a visit to his cabin anyway. Perhaps he can find some peace there? A litter of puppies is really the last thing he expects. And what he learns at the county animal shelter in no way prepares him for the angry teen at his cabin, berating him, on his return, for his actions. Eventually, apologies are proffered from both sides...

Mary Hubble has been lying to her husband. He’s never been violent, but he enjoys his control over every aspect of her life, even dictating with whom she might, at forty-five years old, be friends. When he discovers her small cash stash, she wonders if she can ever escape this loveless marriage to a man who also withholds any form of affection, affirmation or encouragement from his teenaged daughter. For Stan Hubble “everything he saw seemed to deserve that scorn in his eyes. He poured it over everything like dessert topping.”

Soon after she meets Elliot, Abby judges that this is an adult she can respect, one who would make a great father, fleetingly wishing he could be her father, but realistically dismissing that wish: that’s not her life. For his part, Elliot is impressed, not just with Abby’s determination to care for seven puppies, but also the fact that she shows more empathy than many of his adult friends.

Abby tells him: “Well, turns out it’s impossible to be unhappy when you’re lying on your back with a bunch of puppies all around you, doing what puppies do. Trust me. I know. I may not know everything, but I know all about this.”

When they eventually meet, Mary and Elliot find an intellectual connection, enjoying deep, thought-provoking discussion. And if there’s a tiny spark of attraction between them, well, nothing can come of that: Mary is married, and Elliot still feels married to Pat. But Elliot does worry about Mary and Abby, and offers a city refuge…

And then their lives change in a major way: without a moment’s notice, Stan Hubble packs up his family and takes them away.

As with all Catherine Ryan Hyde’s novels, this one is very much character-driven, and what a wonderful cast she gives the reader. Her three protagonists all have something to offer each other, be it wise words, insights or shelter of some sort. If the behaviour some of those in the story is disappointing, the loyalty of friends and the kindness of several strangers restores the reader’s faith in humanity. A truly heart-warming read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing.

This is a feel good story of a young girls joy after saving a litter of puppies which had been thrown in a river.. But how could she keep them, she knows she cant take them home. But life changes so much and for the better for both Abbie and her mum when they meet Elliot, who owns the abandoned cabin where Abbie is trying to keep the puppies.. A story of joy if you have the courage to find it and keep it. A really enjoyable story.

Oh how I loved this book! Sensitively told and full of excellently drawn characters, as are all her books. I was so excited to review this for Netgalley and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. The sweetness of this story stayed with me for a long time!

This was such a heartwarming story that examines the lives of three lonely people and to make it even more special, there are puppies involved. It was beautifully written and did my heart “good”.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a wonderful story of a little girl finding puppies and along the way finding a way of putting a family together again.

This was a good old fashioned sweet story about a girl and her mom who are in a relationship with a man who doesn’t appreciate how good they are and how good he has it. One day, the girl sees someone dumping a bag into the river and it turns out to be puppies so she saves them and one of her neighbors offers to help when she tells him about how mean her dad is. The man has just recently lost his wife, so it is company for him as well. In the end, they all live happily ever after, including All 7 puppies :)
Cute and easy read. It had some tough moments, but I was cheering for the happy ending.

Thirteen-year-old Abby Hubble is out walking when she sees a man throw a sack into the river. When the sack starts moving, Abby feels that she has no choice but to dive into the river. Imagine her surprise when seven puppies wriggle out of the sack Taking them to the pound seems her only option until she finds out what the future holds for them. Taking the puppies home is out of the question; her father already makes life miserable for her and her mother. Abby remembers a cabin in the woods where she may be able to keep them and visit them daily. Elliot Colvin has lost his wife and the purpose for his life when he crosses paths with Abby and the puppies at his cabin. That chance encounter gives them both the hope that they had lost.

Hyde's strength in her writing is her message of love and the belief in the goodness of people. The subject matter is not always an easy one, in this case abuse, however, Abby and Elliot find each other at the exact time that they are needed. Hyde brings humor and lightness through the antics of seven puppies and the lengths to which Abby hides caring for them.

Seven Perfect Things is a heart-warming book filled with the joy of new beginnings and courage found in unexpected places.

If you've ever read a Catherine Ryan Hyde book, you know they have a common thread and that is they always remind us that there are good people out there. Good people that care about others and want to help. This story is no different. Abby is a young girl who has a very unhappy home life. Things start changing the day she saves seven little puppies from certain death. This book was a very heartwarming story and I enjoyed it very much.

This is my first book to ready from Catherine Ryan Hyde but will not be my last. I really enjoyed the Seven Perfect Things. The story flowed and kept my attention.

Catherine Ryan Hyde is a master storyteller. She fills this book with endearing characters and one villain that I absolutely despised. The story broke my heart and then picked up the pieces and put them back together again. The puppies just made me love it more.

Seven Perfect Things was a quick read, and it was sweet to read about Abby and her relationship with the puppies. You were rooting for all three of the main characters, and the ending did not disappoint.

This is another example of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s uplifting writing. Abby rescues a sack of seven puppies someone threw into the river to drown. She quickly rescues them and of course wants to keep all of them. When she realizes that the puppy shelter charges were too high and she cannot keep the puppies at home, she goes to an unused hunting cabin that she and her girlfriend discovered while hiking. The owner, Elliott, is nursing his dying wife at home and when a hospice aid arrives to give him a break, he retreats to the cabin which he owns to discover Abby and the puppies. This begins their friendship. Interwoven with Abby’s unhappy family life, this is really a feel good novel for all dog lovers. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to preview this excellent book.

This wasn't my favorite Catherine Ryan Hyde book, but it did contain solid characters that you just can't help but fall in love with. Her writing is so distinctive, and her characters are so matter-of-fact and just GOOD (well, the ones who are meant to be good, that is!). A solid 4 star read (most of hers are 5 for me!) because I couldn't help but root for Abby & the puppies & Mary.

I received an electronic copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is another wonderful book by Catherine Ryan Hyde, an author I can always count on to weave a story that will tug at the heart strings and prove that love can be found in the most surprising places. She once again places a young person, this time a 13-year-old girl, at the center of her story. The young girl risks her life when she jumps into a river to retrieve a bag filled with seven puppies and subsequently hides them in a deserted building where she feeds and takes care of them. She lives with her mother and abusive father and knows she cannot take them home. Meanwhile, a heartsick man arrives, grieving the death of his wife and simply wanting to be left in peace. The story is about escaping abuse, making friends, and healing wounded hearts. I loved this book and look forward to more offerings by this wonderful author.

I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. Catherine Ryan Hyde makes character so real that I expect to meet them in Walmart someday. The puppy factor made this book particularly endearing. But along with the puppy cuteness there is some budding romance and some suspense. I read the book quickly, enjoyed it greatly.

Family drama- add a litter of puppies and you had me from the cover!
Lovely read- great mix of substance and light heartedness.
I highly recommend,

Seven Perfect Things, by Catherine Ryan Hyde, was the perfect holiday lift I needed. A story of a young girl and her love for a littler of abandon puppies she is determined to raise. Truly heartwarming.
Abby, a thirteen year old girl, happens to witness someone through a sack of something into the river. When it wiggles, she dives into the river to rescue a litter of seven puppies. Her Dad will never let her keep them so she takes them to the local Animal Shelter to surrender them in the hopes they can find them a home.
When she arrives at the shelter the worker quickly informs her of the reality of pet overpopulation. In short, it is highly unlikely these puppy will be adopted. The shelter will only hold them a few days before they will be euthanized.
Out of options, she recalls an abandoned cabin on the outskirts of town. She takes them there and cares for them without her Dad knowing. Now she is able to take her time finding them a home. She settles them into the shed on the property and starts the task of feeding and caring for them.
In the meantime, Elliot, having just lost his wife to a long battle with cancer, decides to retreat to his hunting cabin he has not visited in years. When he arrives he discovers it is occupied by a girl and a litter of seven puppies. This is not the peace and quiet he was expecting and needing to help him grieve. However, he is impressed with Abby’s tenacity and decides to help her with the puppies. One thing leads to another and he finds himself offering his help to more than just a litter of puppies.
This book is all about the characters which I loved, well except for Stan. Abby will especially capture your heart. She is kind but also strong and brave as well as resourceful. Mary too is strong, though she does not realize it at first. She has been beaten down for so long it is surprising that she has the will to try to escape her circumstances.
The plot was good and the puppies made the story extra sweet. They added that special element that made the book extra special. There was just the right amount of drama to move the story on and it kept my interest. I appreciate that the author didn’t add a romance element to Mary and Elliot. Elliot was not ready for that and it would have felt forced.
While this is a somewhat predicable story, I can’t deny the fact that it gave me the warm fuzzes while reading it. This has been my year for these types of stories. I have found myself gravitating towards them all throughout the year. If you need the warm fuzzes, this is the book for you.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest opinion.