Brooke is a divorced single mother. she and her daughter Etta live with Brooke ‘s mother. Molly is is a sixteen-year-old homeless girl living on the streets of Los Angeles.  Their lives collide and they will both be forever changed.

One night Brooke decides to take Etta
a movie. While getting into the car after the movie  Brooke is hijacked. The hijackers leave Brooke standing in the street while he drives off with her mother’s car and Etta strapped in the back seat.

While Molly is out collecting recycling she discovers a  car seat on the sidewalk.to her surprise, there is, still a baby in it. Molly makes a decision to take the baby with her.  She knows it is unsafe for the baby on the street but it can also be unsafe with her. Molly must notify the police, which is hard to do. when you don't have a phone and you are worried about survival. 


From the time Brooke gets Etta back Brooke and Molly ’s lives become intertwined. But it's difficult Brooke and Molly come from two different worlds. Molly is a homeless girl living on the streets. Brooke lives in a nice house, has a job, and enough food. Conversely, Molly does not know how she is going to get food, and shelter is a crate. Brooke is appreciative of Molly, but she is not sure she can trust her. Through the course of the book, Brooke and Molly deal with issues such as wealth, poverty, trust, homosexuality, and respect.

 This story is told from the alternating point of views of both Brooke and Molly, so I knew what each character was feeling and thinking.

I could not put this book down. It was both suspenseful and heartwarming.



This was an amazing story that addresses a myriad of social issues. The characters were well developed. I did not want the story to end. I want to know now how Brooke, Molly, and Etta are doing today.

Thank you, Catherine Ryan Hyde, for writing such a heartwarming story.

If you want to read an emotional story revolving around important issues that will pull at your heartstrings may I suggest Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

As the story starts off Brooke is a 30 something divorced single mom living with her mother and 2 year old daughter Etta. Brooke takes Etta out one evening to the movies when she is carjacked and dragged out of the car. The carjacker proceeds to speed off with baby Etta still in her car-seat. A mother’s worst nightmare right?

Soon after this happens, a homeless 16 year old named Molly finds baby Etta abandoned in an alley still in her car-seat. Molly spends the next 24 hours or so keeping Etta safe until she is finally able to get to the police. She whispers “brave girl, quiet girl” to the baby and soothes her during this scary time. When Brooke and Molly finally meet there is much tension involved but also room for an unlikely bond to form.

This is my third time reading Catherine Ryan Hyde and she tends to move me with her emotional stories. I’ve read Pay It Forward and Chasing Windmills by this author and enjoyed both. This author has a knack for writing stories centering on important issues and featuring characters who become unlikely every day heroes. She creates well fleshed out characters who you can root for.

The plot centers around important issues such as homelessness and the importance of acceptance for LGBT teens especially. The author tackled these subjects well. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough especially towards the latter half of the book and I wanted to see how it would all turn out. There is no easy fix but another theme of the story is helping those out who need it most and how in helping others we also help better ourselves.  I enjoyed this emotional and moving story and I recommend it.

This started promising when Brooke, a single mother is carjacked with her two year old daughter Etta,   trapped inside.  Molly, a teenage runaway finds Etta abandoned still strapped in her car seat and takes her to protect her from harm until she can get her to the police. This book jumps from the perspectives of Brooke and Molly and the bond that is created. 

Unfortunately, this was predictable and dragged on.   

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Friendships can happen in the most least likely of places and with the most unexpected people; but when it is meant to be, it can be a beautiful thing!

The only thing that is keeping Brooke going is her little girl, two-year-old Etta. When her husband wants nothing to do with having a child, Brooke leaves and goes back to live with her mother. While not the most ideal situation, it is the only thing she can do with her little means. One night when she is out with Etta, her life changes forever when she is carjacked and watches her car speed away with Etta inside. Los Angeles is large and getting Etta back won’t be easy. Miles away, Etta is found by Molly, a homeless teenager. She takes Etta with her to the wooden crate she uses as her home and tries to keep her safe and calm. Out of the horror of losing her child and Molly finding her, the two forge a friendship that will help them both learn things about themselves they never knew before.

Each time I pick up a new Catherine Ryan Hyde story, I find myself amazed at how wonderfully she can write a novel. It doesn’t matter what the story is about, I am pulled in and fly through the pages each time. This story was one that tugged at my heart strings for both Brooke and Molly; each character is put through very trying times and fall on hard times. Both have mothers that they wouldn’t wish on their own worst enemies and are able to understand one another because of the hard times they have experienced and the lack of understanding from those who should be there to understand them the most. Building characters that are relatable can be very difficult, but it is one of the qualities that Hyde is best at doing.  Each of her novels is so very different from one another and yet she still writes characters we want to see find happiness, success and love. We get to feel what they feel and live through their eyes. The combination of Brooke, Etta and Molly is so beautifully written that no matter the circumstances I wanted to see each of them find a happy ending. 

Each new book by Hyde explores themes that are relevant to today’s world and this is no exception, we see the problem of acceptance, love, homelessness and LGBTQ issues. There is nothing that gets graphic or too heavy into these topics, but it does bring to light problems that can be glossed over and easy to ignore. I loved the flow of this book, I read it in just over two days and could have been quicker if I would have cut out sleep. I recommend this book to readers that enjoy a story that tackles tough topics and brings characters together in a perfect and emotional ending.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher.  The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Catherine Ryan Hyde has a way of creating stories and characters that really touch my heart. They always help to restore my faith in humanity. In Brave Girl, Quiet Girl, single mother Brooke and homeless teenage Molly are brought together by a traumatic event involving Brooke's young daughter Etta. Brooke and Molly both share a love for two-year old Etta while comparing notes on who has the worst mother. Can they learn to trust each other and find a path forward? Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

EXCERPT: My plan was to put on my seat belt to drive home.

I had Etta strapped into her car seat, still snoring like a miniature soprano buzz saw. I was sitting in the driver's seat of my mom's Mercedes, trying to get my own belt done. Sounds easy enough, but I was wearing a big, long sweater, and the folds of it kept getting in the way.

I go back to this moment a lot.

It wasn't much of a struggle before I gave up. It wasn't that frustrating. Which makes it even harder to explain after the fact. To myself or anyone else.

At best I can figure after the fact, it was this: in that moment I was happy. I was out in the world with my child, enjoying one of those perfect moments made perfect by the simple fact that I had her. I was in a state of joy, which felt increasingly rare.

When that moment of slight frustration arose, I didn't want to spoil anything.

I drove away with my seat belt undone.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Brooke is a divorced single mom, financially strapped, living with her mother, and holding tight to the one thing that matters most: her two-year-old daughter, Etta. Then, in a matter of seconds, Brooke’s life is shattered when she’s carjacked. Helpless and terrified, all Brooke can do is watch as Etta, still strapped in her seat, disappears into the Los Angeles night.

Miles away, Etta is found by Molly, a homeless teen who is all too used to darkness. Thrown away by her parents, and with a future as stable as the wooden crate she calls home, Molly survives day to day by her wits. As unpredictable as her life is, she’s stunned to find Etta, abandoned and alone. Shielding the little girl from more than the elements, Molly must put herself in harm’s way to protect a child as lost as she is.

Out of one terrible moment, Brooke’s and Molly’s desperate paths converge and an unlikely friendship across generations and circumstances is formed. With it, Brooke and Molly will come to discover that what’s lost—and what’s found—can change in a heartbeat.

MY THOUGHTS: Brave Girl, Quiet Girl is the first book I have read by author Catherine Ryan-Hyde. She has written a compassionate and realistic book about the relationships between mothers and daughters, and our prejudices against the homeless.

The story is told from the points of view of Brooke, mother of Etta, and Molly, Etta's rescuer. Brooke is struggling to make ends meet and living with her very judgemental mother since the failure of her marriage. Molly, sixteen and gay, was kicked out of home when she revealed to her very religious parents that she was gay. She was told she could come home when she got rid of the devil that possessed her.

Molly is an interesting character. She is very moral, very honest. And she falls in love with the adorable little toddler that she finds strapped into a car seat abandoned on a street corner. I far preferred her character to that of Brooke who, although she despises her mother's judgemental behaviour, initially exhibits the very same characteristics.

I liked this story. I didn't love it. There were a few things, mainly concerned with Brooke's actions, that didn't ring true for me. I liked the way the title is taken from the mantra Molly whispers to Etta to calm her. I don't like the cover. If it is meant to be Molly with Etta, she is homeless, unwashed with dirty, disheveled clothing and unbrushed, unkempt hair. A car seat containing a small child alone under a street light would have better portrayed the pathos of this story.

Would I read another book by this author? Definitely.

😊😊😊.5

#BraveGirlQuietGirl #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: I am the author of more than 30 published and forthcoming books. I'm an avid hiker, traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan-Hyde for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

See, THIS is why CRH is one of my top fave authors...this ability to churn out a 5 star read once every 6mo or so. Now that's talent. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Brooke and Molly's journey to each other, and I love how we wrap up with them becoming the "family" that the other one needs.  

I'll be here patiently awaiting the next release (which is already up for preordering, btw) I'll always be a faithful fan, I just can't help myself

Thanks Netgalley for giving me the advanced PDF so that I can share my opinions with y'all

Rating:   3.5 stars rounded reluctantly down to 3 stars

I am always excited to read anything that Catherine Ryan Hyde writes.  She tackles real-life issues with pathos and charm.  She brings her characters to life in relatable ways.  Her latest book follows the same vein as prior her books, but sadly, it fell just a tad short of previous books for me.   It was a good story, but not as emotionally impactful as some of her other works.  

Brooke and Molly tell this book in alternating storylines.   Brooke is in her late 30’s and is a single mother to 2-year-old Etta.  Brooke is back living at her ultra-judgmental mother’s home due to financial issues.   She is unhappy at home.  She feels stuck.  Little Etta is the bright spot in her life.

Molly is a homeless 16-year-old living on the streets in an industrial section of Los Angeles.   After being kicked out of her family home in Utah, her new friend Bodhi talked her into going to LA with him.  She’s been on the streets for awhile, but at least she’s not alone.

One fateful night while driving her Mom’s Mercedes, Brooke is carjacked.  The car speeds off with Etta strapped in her car seat in the back.  So starts Brooke’s nightmare of trying to recover Etta.   Meanwhile Molly stumbles across Etta, still strapped in her car seat, on a deserted stretch of sidewalk.   Molly scoops her up, and tries to figure out how to let the police know that she’s found a baby.  She doesn’t have money for a phone call.  She finds Bodhi, and he agrees to head out to find get someone to call the police.

Brooke is ultimately reunited with Etta.   However, she cannot let go of her resentment as to how much time it took for Molly to get the little girl back to her.   In the 24 hours the Molly had Etta, she kept her calm, kept her fed, kept her dry, and kept her safe.  She and Etta formed a strong bond during their time together.

The rest of the book explores the following issues; homelessness, the foster care system, mother/daughter relationships, personal integrity, and what it means to be a family.   I found Molly’s story to be much more compelling than Brooke’s did.  While they both were stuck in situations that were uncomfortable, Molly took a more active role in day-to-day living and moving forward.   Brooke seemed caught up in her own head and was unable to figure out how to get unstuck.

I think this book did a great job shining a light on the realities and inherent dangers of being a homeless person.  The plight of this population is real.  Staying clean, safe, and fed is a battle they wage every hour of every day.   In the face of that persistent homeless struggle, Molly retained her principles and integrity.  She would not eat stolen food even when she was hungry.   I admired that about her, but was I was silently urging her to eat the dang food!   

I liked the ending.  (Nope, not giving it away here.)   However, the sometime circuitous route it took to arrive there was occasionally frustrating.  I am giving this book a rating of 3.5 stars, rounded down to three stars.   This is a big-hearted book about what it means to be family with all its inherent pitfalls and potential joys.  I would recommend this to readers who enjoy books in the Women’s Fiction genre, and those who enjoy books that tackle social issues with open eyes and compassion.   I am glad that I spent some time with Brooke, Molly and Etta, the ‘Brave Girl, Quiet Girl’.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Lake Union Publishing; and author, Catherine Ryan Hyde, for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another winner from an author who if you haven't read any of her books yet you're so missing out. Emotional and taunt. You will read this book with your heart in your throat. Unputdownable. An absolute must read that no one will be able to pry out of your hands. Deserves a top spot on your TBR pile. Happy reading!

Brooke and Molly are from different generations and living in vastly different worlds. Brooke is a struggling single mother who lives with her own mom. Molly is a runaway teenager. However, when a traumatic event occurs, it will bring them together and change their lives. Reading this book is like slowly being enveloped in a warm hug. The relationship that develops between the two main characters is so hopeful and encouraging. It shows what can happen when you give people a chance and don't judge other people by their circumstances.

Catherine Ryan Hyde’s latest story Brave Girl, Quiet Girl has provided me the reading motivation to read late into the night that has been lacking the past several weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel with the suspense of a carjacking with two year old Etta inside, Molly the young homeless girl who finds her and the mother Brooke who must endure this ordeal and put the pieces together in the aftermath.  In the true art of this author, all the characters are flawed and yet relatable and the story flows quickly.  I highly recommend this book. I was provided an Arc of this book, all opinions are my own.

This is another feel good read from Catherine Ryan Hyde- and it's worth your time.  Brooke's little daughter Etta is driven away from her when Brooke is carjacked.   Molly, a homeless teen, finds Etta's car seat, shelters her for a scary night and day and then is finally able to flag down the police so that Etta can be returned.  Brooke's not very nice to Molly but then understands what an extraordinary thing she did.  Hyde doesn't spare the reader from the life Molly's been living,  She is lucky to have had Bodhi as a friend but not in much of anything else.  Brooke has issues too albeit much less horrid.  How these three- Molly, Brooke, and Etta bond is at the root of this heart warmer.  Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.  Good characters, great storytelling, and a positive vibe make this a wonderful read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Catherine Ryan Hyde for the opportunity to read and review her latest book.  I'm not sure I've ever given anything but 5 stars to one of her books - they are must reads for me!

Brooke is a single mom, forced to live with her mom because she is broke.   To say they have a contemptuous relationship is putting it mildly, but Brooke is willing to put up with her mom to provide a safe home for her 2-year-old daughter, Etta.  Then Brooke is the victim of a carjacking and the car speeds away with Etta strapped in her car seat in the back.

Molly is a homeless teenager, living in a crate.  Molly was kicked out of her parents' home and has been barely surviving with the help of her friend.  Molly comes across Etta, still strapped in her car seat, and takes her to keep her safe.

When these two unite, they will both have to confront prejudice and judgment to figure out how they can both move forward in their lives.

Just a wonderful story to make you think about mother and daughter relationships as well as how we view others different from us.  I always want to be able to live life like a character in Cartherine Ryan Hyde's novels and be able to verbalize the perfect thoughts!  Meanwhile, I'll have to be content with reading her books and hoping all these lessons seep in!

When you open a Catherine Ran Hyde book you know your going to have a wonderful read and this one didn’t disappoint. You learn some of what it’s like to be a homeless teenager. Very eye opening and makes you thing again about the homeless.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I can not get over how Catherine Ryan Hyde can pull you right into her fabulous stories. You may laugh or you may cry but you definitely feel what her characters are feeling. I highly recommend this book. Enjoy! 📚

Brave Girl, Quiet Girl is another powerful stand-alone Lovely Book by the Queen of thought-provoking heart-warming contemporary fiction. Once again she has created brilliantly real characters who somehow make the right choices in a tough world. 

Brooke is a stressed out single mother doing a low wage job, who has been forced to return to her difficult mother’s house to save money. Driving home from a movie, she is car-jacked and thrown from it, watching in despair as her two year old daughter Etta is driven away from her. Molly is sixteen and living on the streets of LA with her best friend Bodhi. When she finds a baby in a car seat by the side of the road in a deserted part of the city, she knows she must care for and protect her even when she has nothing and no way to call for help.

Ryan Hyde has a knack for creating sensitive, kind and courageous teenagers who defy all the stereotypes, and then putting them in terrible predicaments. 
This is told from Brooke and Molly’s alternating viewpoints, which worked well as we follow their stories. Molly is likeable right from the start - despite being homeless, she refuses to steal or litter, and immediately puts little Etta’s needs above her own. The reasons behind her being thrown out of home were heart-breaking but not a huge surprise. Brooke, on the other hand, took half the book to win me over - a victim of her own selfish choices and pride, one of the major themes of the book was how she redeems herself and learns that there are many different ways to be a mother.

This books shines a deeply unflattering light on the US welfare system, with children exploited by grasping foster parents, teenagers thrown in jail for stealing food, and police officers unable to help even if they want to. Sure, there’s also a major homelessness problem here, but there is at least a safety net that seems completely lacking there, if this book is based on fact.

I’ve now read 7 or 8 books by this author and loved nearly all of them - thankfully she’s got many more for me to acquire. I particularly like that she doesn’t rely on romance to provide a happy ending, focussing instead on the other kinds of love that make the world go round. 4.5 rounded up for all-round great story-telling.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. Brave Girl, Quiet Girl is published today.

Mother/daughter relationships - so simple yet complex.   

Brooke is a single mother of 2 year old, divorced, and living with her difficult mother.  Life can't get much worse, right?!   Wrong.  Brooke is carjacked while driving her mother's Mercedes, and the driver flees in the car with little Etta still in her car seat in the back seat.

The driver soon realizes Etta and leaves her in her car seat on the sidewalk in a less that desirable neighborhood where she is found by a homeless teenager named Molly.  Molly protects Etta from harm as Brooke and police frantically search for her.

Can Molly return Etta to Brooke safely?   Will anyone believe that Molly isn't the carjacker?  You'll have to read Brave Girl, Quiet Girl to find out!   You won't be sorry!

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.  #BraveGirlQuietGirl #NetGalley

Relationships: the way in which two or more people regard and behave toward each other. Relationships can be so difficult and complicated. Relationships can be the best things ever or ones that hurt more than words. This is a story that delves mainly into the realm of mother/daughter relationships. Ms. Hyde wrote a very sensitive and compassionate story about how this relationship can be flawed and leave a daughter rejected. Not just one daughter/mother relationship, but two. "We either grow up to be our mother or we make a solemn vow to the universe to be her polar opposite." This is also about a relationship between two people who become connected through unimaginable circumstances and the love they share for a little girl named Etta. This is an emotionally packed book that tugged my heart all across the feelings spectrum. The characters Ms. Hyde created in this story were ones I became instantly attached to.

Brooke is Etta's mother. She loves Etta more than anything else in the world and she wants to be the best mom to her she can possibly be. Nothing like her own mother is to her. But an unthinkable thing happens and Etta becomes a missing child! 

Molly is a homeless teen living on the streets in L.A. She's just trying to survive after her mother kicks her out of the house. She connects with a guy, Bodhi, and together they are living on the streets when Molly finds a little toddler girl, Etta. Molly's heart goes out to this little one and her protective instincts kick in. 

This is the setup to an in-depth story that is told from alternating points-of-view between Brooke and Molly. The heart wrenching pain I felt when Brooke is desperate to find her sweet child, Etta, is intense. I've had a missing child and the minutes, hours, days are agonizing. The turmoil Brooke went through was gut wrenchingly written. As are all the emotions with the characters. It is especially evident in the connection between Molly and Etta. It was an instant bond and trust between the two. Not so much between Brooke and Molly to begin with but Ms. Hyde nurtured that relationship with care and timeliness that made me pull for them to become trusting and bonded. 

I loved the internal dialogue each character has with herself. It's like a story telling dialogue from their minds. The thoughts of Molly were especially good in the teenager lingo that fits so well in how they think and express themselves. ".....I heard the baby girl in the back seat, and she was calling my name, too. It was a little bit quiet, but I could hear her saying "Molly, Molly, Molly," and it melted all my mad away. I could just feel it turn to water and pour out of me, like I was all leaky and full of holes." The emotions the characters experience were genuine and so true to what happens in life. No one is perfect but love can make the imperfectness be the "perfect" someone else needs. 

The settings were vividly described throughout the book. In my mind I could see the homeless camps and shelters vividly. The shelters made out of cardboard and old tarps or crates. Ms. Hyde made me feel I was experiencing the very real issue of homeless people and what it is like. The secret "code" they have between them. The way they are avoided or treated as inferior people. It made me sad. But the other settings, the foster home, the homes of the mothers of Brooke and Molly, the desert travel...all are just as vivid as if I were there, too. Word pictures brought to life. 

This is a story that I stepped into the pages and forgot about my own surroundings. From the first word to the last, it took me on a journey that sometimes things happen for the better and that bad things can lead to good, if given a chance. "It was like what was happening, or at least what I thought was happening, was so big it made my heart stretch until it hurt." I want to thank Ms. Hyde, Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC copy of Brave Girl, Quiet Girl. It was an honor to read it. All opinions and thoughts in this review are my heartfelt own.

This was a nice surprise of a book.  Well written and easy to read.  Thought provoking yet not hitting you over the head with bleeding heart liberalism.  It gives what seems to be an accurate portrayal of a teenager living on the street.  The book is told from two points of view in alternating chapters so the reader always knows who is talking (I appreciated that!).  

Brooke is in an awful situation with no money and dependent on her domineering Mother.  She's understandably devastated at losing her baby to a carjacker.  Molly - how can you not love Molly - is a teenager living on the streets after being forced from home by her Mother.  Baby Etta is the glue that holds these two characters together.  Understandably, Brooke is wary of Molly at first as is Molly of Brooke; but their relationship gradually , softens from that wariness to acceptance, friendship, and finally a form of family.

Great Storytelling With Relatable Characters. One of the best things about Hyde's books is that you know you're going to get stories of very human characters that are simply trying to do their best with the situations they find themselves in, despite several flaws (both obvious and not). Here we get an all too real story that happens *far* too often (in a part that would be a spoiler to reveal) and often enough that it is a documented event (in the initial conflict) while overtly getting a story of two women just trying to do their best. Hyde does an excellent job of humanizing both the strengths and the weaknesses of most characters, though the secondary characters get a bit less of this and the one-off characters get even less, by their very nature of only being shown once or twice. Still, a truly excellent work that explores at least one idea that is all too real for all too many, yet isn't discussed much in mainstream fiction. Very much recommended.