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![Boy Underground: A Novel by [Catherine Ryan Hyde]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51fSdTxqfYL._SY346_.jpg)
Boy Underground: A Novel Kindle Edition
Catherine Ryan Hyde (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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During WWII, a teenage boy finds his voice, the courage of his convictions, and friends for life in an emotional and uplifting novel by the New York Times and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author.
1941. Steven Katz is the son of prosperous landowners in rural California. Although his parents don’t approve, he’s found true friends in Nick, Suki, and Ollie, sons of field workers. The group is inseparable. But Steven is in turmoil. He’s beginning to acknowledge that his feelings for Nick amount to more than friendship.
When the bombing of Pearl Harbor draws the US into World War II, Suki and his family are forced to leave their home for the internment camp at Manzanar. Ollie enlists in the army and ships out. And Nick must flee. Betrayed by his own father and accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he turns to Steven for help. Hiding Nick in a root cellar on his family’s farm, Steven acts as Nick’s protector and lifeline to the outside world.
As the war escalates, bonds deepen and the fear of being different falls away. But after Nick unexpectedly disappears one day, Steven’s life focus is to find him. On the way, Steven finds a place he belongs and a lesson about love that will last him his lifetime.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherLake Union Publishing
- Publication dateDecember 7, 2021
- File size7143 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Fans of Homer H. Hickham Jr.’s Rocket Boys, Andrew J. Graff’s Raft of Stars, and Hyde’s substantial backlist will savor this heart-opening and meticulously researched coming-of-age tale.” —Booklist
About the Author
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of forty books (and counting). An avid traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer, she shares her astrophotography with readers on her website.
Her novel Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture, chosen by the American Library Association (ALA) for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than twenty-three languages in over thirty countries. Both Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow list, and Jumpstart the World was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards. Where We Belong won two Rainbow Awards in 2013, and The Language of Hoofbeats won a Rainbow Award in 2015.
More than fifty of her short stories have been published in the Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, and many other journals; in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts; and in the bestselling anthology Dog Is My Copilot. Her stories have been honored by the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the Tobias Wolff Award and have been nominated for Best American Short Stories, the O. Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Three have been cited in the annual Best American Short Stories anthology.
She is founder and former president (2000–2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation and still serves on its board of directors. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.
For more information, please visit the author at www.catherineryanhyde.com.
Product details
- ASIN : B08LYKTSVT
- Publisher : Lake Union Publishing (December 7, 2021)
- Publication date : December 7, 2021
- Language : English
- File size : 7143 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 353 pages
- Lending : Not Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,153 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of more than 40 published and forthcoming books.
An avid hiker, traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer and astrophotographer, she has a published book of photos, 365 DAYS OF GRATITUDE: PHOTOS FROM A BEAUTIFUL WORLD.
She is co-author, with fellow author and publishing industry blogger Anne R. Allen, of HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE: A SELF-HELP GUIDE.
Her novel PAY IT FORWARD was adapted into a major motion picture, chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than 23 languages for distribution in over 30 countries. The paperback was released in October 2000 by Pocket Books and quickly became a national bestseller. Simon & Schuster released PAY IT FORWARD: YOUNG READERS' EDITION in August of '14. It is suitable for kids as young as eight. A special Fifteenth Anniversary Edition of the original PAY IT FORWARD was released in December of '14
LOVE IN THE PRESENT TENSE enjoyed bestseller status in the UK, where it broke the top ten, spent five weeks on the bestseller lists, was reviewed on a major TV book club, and shortlisted for a Best Read of the Year award at the British Book Awards. Both BECOMING CHLOE and JUMPSTART THE WORLD were included on the ALA's Rainbow List, and JUMPSTART THE WORLD was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards. WHERE WE BELONG won two Rainbow Awards in 2013 and THE LANGUAGE OF HOOFBEATS won a Rainbow Award in 2015.
New Kindle editions of her backlist titles FUNERALS FOR HORSES, EARTHQUAKE WEATHER AND OTHER STORIES, ELECTRIC GOD, and WALTER'S PURPLE HEART are now available. Also available is THE LONG, STEEP PATH: EVERYDAY INSPIRATION FROM THE AUTHOR OF PAY IT FORWARD, her first book-length creative nonfiction.
More than 50 of her short stories have been published in The Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train and many other journals, and in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts and the bestselling anthology Dog is my Co-Pilot. Her stories have been honored in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the Tobias Wolff Award and nominated for Best American Short Stories, the O'Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Three have been cited in Best American Short Stories.
She is founder and former president (2000-2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation, and served on its board of directors for over 20 years. As a professional public speaker she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with Americorps members at the White House and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.
For more information and book club questions for most backlist titles, please visit the author at catherineryanhyde.com (Note: The newer titles have book club questions included at the back of the book.)
Customer reviews
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I always trust that CRH will give us reasons to open our minds and hearts to greater compassion, understanding, and knowledge. This book offers all that and more.
Did I mention that the story begins at the time Pearl Harbor was attacked?
CRH gives details of internment camps in the United States--that only someone willing to put in the time to research could discover. She gives insight into what it must have been like to be considered "different" in the 1940s even until the present. She even offers some underlying reasons the antagonists in the story (e.g., bullies--both children and adults) may have acted the way they did.
And she gives us the wisdom of Mr. Cho, who may have given the gift of resilience to Steven: the suggestion that his story--and life--just may be incomplete. Hang on, he seems to say to Steven (and to us). Hang on. Things will change. Things can get better.
I love reading stories for what I learn. But I really love reading stories for how they make me feel. This one gives me hope.
It's the story of four boys, aged 14/15, growing up in the farming area south of Fresno, California in the 1940's. Steven is our narrator and main character. He is the son of a landowner, and he befriends 3 other boys from families with much less money than his.
Ollie is the oldest of the 4 boys; he joins the armed services in a fever of patriotism and is killed almost immediately. Suki is another of the group, a Japanese-American whose family is sent to live in the Japanese internment camp Manzenar. Nick is the 14 year old love interest of Steven.
Nick's alcoholic father was in a bar fight with a man he left for dead, then managed to have his son, Nick, implicated for the crime. Steven not only hides Nick, but also helps him leave the area.
This is the story of Steven's coming of age and coming out. It's the story of how dangerous it was to be gay, or Japanese-American, during the 1940's. It's a story of courage, of acceptance, and of friendship. It's true to CRH style of heartwarming honesty and subtle instruction on what it takes to be a decent human being.
Top reviews from other countries

The boys returned home, Ollie joined the army but was killed on the way out there, Nicks father hurt someone badly and said Nick did it, Nick had to hide and Steven helped him, at School many boys and girls were missing, all Japanese were taken to the camp even if they had only lived in America
The Police now knew Nick was innocent but he leaves, Steven tries to see Suki but is not allowed in, Steven takes all the money he has to find Nick




When Steven arrives in NY I wasn't expecting that part but it brought a tear to my eye. Great ending, sad as so true for so many people.