Love in the Present Tense was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick in 2007.  This is better.  It follows some thirty years in the life of a baby abandoned in a wood and of the man who found him, lost him to the child’s grandmother, and then found him again.  The child is a delinquent, the man a patient, realistic fellow, their story is related in chunks focusing on each in turn, but continuous, in real time, unbroken and totally engaging.  In a smooth flowing, economic style you are drawn in and need to know what happens.  A wonderful book.

Comparison: Jodi Picoult, Anita Shreve, Mitch Albom.

Synopsis

When Nathan McCann discovers a newborn baby boy half buried in the woods, he assumes he’s found a tiny dead body. But then the baby moves and in one remarkable moment, Nathan’s life is changed forever.

The baby is sent to grow up with his grandmother, but Nathan can’t forget him and is compelled to pay her a visit. He asks for one simple promise – that one day she will introduce the boy to Nathan and tell him, ‘This is the man who found you in the woods.’

Years pass and Nathan assumes that the old lady has not kept her promise, until one day an angry, troubled boy arrives on his doorstep with a suitcase . . .

About the Author

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of several highly acclaimed novels including Pay it Forward, which was named an ALA Book of the Year and made into a major Warner Brothers feature film starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt. In 2007 her novel Love in the Present Tense was selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club and became a Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller. She lives in Cambia, California. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation