The Wake Up

The heartfelt latest from Hyde (Allie and Bea) takes readers on a journey of one man’s spiritual awakening. While hunting, 40-year-old California cattle rancher Aiden Delacorte feels an intense pain and blacks out seconds after shooting a buck. Once he wakes up, Aiden realizes that he must have felt the pain of the animal he shot, and this type of empathy is further evidenced when he feels the terror of his horse while riding it near the dead buck. Aiden’s newly discovered empathy is not without complications: his girlfriend, Livie, becomes furious with him for not keeping the deer meat, and he can no longer stomach some of the most basic tasks of cattle ranching. After Aiden and Livie break up, he begins dating Gwen and meets her children, Elizabeth and Milo. Though Aiden is able to quickly establish a relationship with Elizabeth, Milo is a difficult child who is cruel to animals. Through flashbacks, Hyde highlights the parallels between Aiden’s early childhood and Milo’s experiences. As Aiden starts to understand and break through Milo’s barriers, the novel shows how trust can eventually help heal trauma. Hyde’s latest is memorable and well-plotted. [em](Dec.) [/em]