Out there is chaos, the collapse of society, and so much to be afraid of. All that matters is freedom.
An orphaned boy raised by a survivalist wends his way into the real world in an emotional novel about hope, fears, and found family.

The moment I read the description, I knew I needed to read this. The concept was great and as much as I wanted to enjoy it, I had to skip some parts. The concept was great, but sadly, I had to drag myself through it.

Maybe sometime in future, I would love to give this another try.

This book is based on dystopian misery and is written in a third person but with dual POV of Remy and Anne.

Remi was five years old when his mother died and his survivalist father took him to live out of no where in the woods near Canadian border far away from his home Pocatello.
To the readers who don't know what survivalist means, it means a person who stockpiles weapons and food for the apocalypse and who thinks world especially government is coming to take away their guns and freedom.
So his father, Roy Blake tries to imbibe things into young Remi in his own way. Like he doesn't want Remi to call him dad but Roy since he thinks Remi is his equal and not his son which I think is downright cruel to Remi because he is just a five year old who needs his father after his mother's tragedy and should be expected to be a grown up equal.
At some point while reading the book I felt like I could not continue reading it and I needed a break from all the emotional distress the boy had to go through.
Life is double edged sword and it is not all about just happiness, warmth and love but also about pain, sufferings, confusion and helplessness.
One cannot avoid the otherside of it completely and the author has done a very fine job of describing his misery and confusion.
Due to his father's unexpected death and other series of fortunate events, Anne becomes Remi's foster mom and he eventually realises his father teachings and thought process was wrong.

There are several aspects or matters discussed in the book which makes you actually pause and think it through it which is really insightful and brainstorming experience. The extract of one such case is when Anne tries to explain 'approaching strangers for help' to Remi:
"See, now I would tell you just the opposite. I would tell you if your were in trouble to go to a police officer, but maybe not just a random stranger. But, anyway, here's the point I am trying to make. He was right to tell you not to talk to strangers. Anybody in their right mind would teach their kid not to talk to strangers, because now and then a stranger can be terribly dangerous for a child. So I am not going to tell you 'No that was wrong'. What I am going to tell you is .................... that was too much fear of strangers. If you are in that much danger, the stranger would have been better bet. There's such a thing as too much fear, but there's also not enough fear, and somehow we have to find the right spot in the middle."

I really loved the way author has narrated sensitive matters in the book and her approach to getting issues resolved.
This book is highly recommended to readers who like a little of dystopia with intense emotions, connection and a HEA.

This was my second new Catherine Ryan Hyde novel THIS WEEK! And in danger of being repetitive, I must wonder again at how she does it. Each novel has relatable characters and kindhearted ones. Each novel tells a message story, each one is well written and gripping. Keep 'em coming, Catherine. I will read them.

Remy' is a five year old boy whose father, a survivalist, has taken him to live off the grid in a forest in Northern Idaho. The isolation is hard on both, made harder by the boy's being instructed to trust no one, especially no one with a uniform who could be from the government. How the boy becomes a feral survivor is a large part of his tale.

Obviously written during the height of the Covid pandemic, ryan Hyde inserts masking and hospital overcrowding.

Anne is a foster mother of two children she and her husband Chris have adopted. A third child was taken back by her mother and Anne is anxious to replace the third child in the family. Chapter alternate with Remy and Anne's perspectives. There is psychology (a wonderful therapist), fear, deprivation, pain, and deeply felt emotions. There is even an effort to understand mass shootings and fear of what the world is coming to.

It would have been a Five Star rating but for the sermonizing about the innate goodness of some people and the hard to believe Remy's suffering and yet miraculous recovery and eventual happy solution.

Thanks Lake Union Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book when the library was not open.