Allie and Bea: A Novel Paperback – 23 May 2017

I had this on audio, although it failed after a while. The narration was good. The story kept my attention throughout.Both Bea and Allie were very well drawn and credible. Their developing relationship was fun, realistic, sparky and rather joyful.I couldn't help feeling concerned for the cat but she was having a good time with almost constant company. In that small van though, the odours.....!!Some touching interludes with brief encounters.Equally, some scary and brutal moments.The theme of mixing generations isn't new but is dependant on the authors approach and ability to create a credible and convincing relationship.This relationship more than ticked those criteria.

An unusual story about the friendship between two “runaways” – an old widowed lady and a teenage girl who find themselves homeless due to no fault of their own. Their journey to find out about each other and learn about life is captivating. It would make a watchable movie. I really enjoyed it.

Great book , easy reading .Didn't want book to end.Lovely story, happiness and sadness .Will definitely read more of Catherine's books .

This is such a lovely thought provoking book that is filled with high and lows. Well narrated and keeps you hooked.

To my surprise I really enjoyed this book. There were serious events written about but it was light hearted too. Showed the difference between the poor & well off in the US & the lives they lived. A satisfying ending too.

Catherine Ryan Hyde's "Allie and Bea" is not quite the kind of book that I expected. Initially I felt that though I would certainly read the whole of the book through since I am an afficionado of this author, I did not expect to be as affected as ultimately I was. I won't attempt to even hint at the subject of the book just that I was unable to stop reading once I had started.

A teenager and a pensioner get together under different circumstances. They decide to go on a road trip, have an adventure. They meet a couple of people along the way. The police catch up with the runaway teenager, she ends up going back home and asks the pensioner to stay. That's about it really. Not much of an adventure but an easy read.

A beautiful story of an old widowed lady and a young naive teenage girl who are both cast out into the dangerous world through no fault of their own. They come across each other and embark on an adventurous journey which has them learning about life from each other, and end up being the best of friends. A truly ` feel good ` book.

I loved this book after the first few heart breaking and scary chapters, but their circumstances are real problems in today’s world so it’s good to be aware. I loved their trip up the coast, their learning to trust and care for one another and lessons learned along the way. Excellent writing! Thank you for another amazing read!

Good read bringing together different generations and the plight of young people losing their home situation

A well written book about how a teenager and an old woman's paths cross and how they get along. I would recommend this book to everyone.

I really enjoyed reading Allie and Bea, as it is a story of two characters, who could not be any more different, coincidently run into each other and set out on a journey together that is pretty much doomed right from the start. But as they travel together they start to learn from one another. They begin to see the world from the eyes of their companion, and it makes them both so much richer. There is a lot of heart ache to feel with the two protagonists, but there is also so much hope. A must-read!

The protagonists in this novel are at opposite ends of the age spectrum, and neither at an age usually associated with the Coming of Age, but that's where they're at in this book.. This is a delightful story about two incongruous personalities on an equally incongruous life journey. The whole book only covers a short period of time, but because of the 'adventures' these two have, it seems much longer. The dialogue is fast-paced and witty, matching the characters perfectly. The characters themselves are very convincing and well crafted. It would be sad to suppose that the events portrayed in this book actually happen regularly in real life. I am sure they do, and we are all the better for being reminded of how good our lives are.