Pay It Forward

Rating:
Summary: One of the most uplifting stories possible.
Review: Like other reviewers, I am a cynic. Like other reviewers, I saw the cover and it interested me. I came back from lunch and looked up the title and, after reading the synopsis, ordered it immediately despite a stack of books at home just waiting to be read. I finally read it yesterday. Amazing how such an uplifting message can be delivered in only a couple of hours. Despite my innate cynicism, I finished the book wishing that something similar would happen -- and believing that it could. As the book points out, the idea is not "random acts of kindness". They are not random. It is spending your time looking for people that you can help -- and then asking them to pay it forward. And you help them despite your feelings to the contrary -- as in the case of Matt and Sidney G., or the original gang member Chris interviewed.

I started a tradition a couple years ago of buying some of the best books I read that year for friends and family, so they would have their own copies to pass on. This year, I am already considering buying everyone the same book, just because it was so wonderful and carries such an incredible message. I only wish that other readers had reacted more like the adults of the book, rather than Trevor's classmates -- seeing the possibilities and responsibilities that come with paying a kindness forward, rather than questioning whether people can actually live based on an honor system.

Rating:
Summary: Cannot think of a reason why you shouldn't read this!
Review: Maybe I think too many books are good, but this book has to be up there with my favorites. I started reading it at work, just wondering what it was about because the movie looked so good. I ended up taking it home and reading a majority of it until early last night, fighting with the allergy pills that were trying to make me go to bed. It is such a great book. It warms your heart in such a big way... you finish it hoping that it is a true story. I can't wait to see the movie and see how the Movement is passed throughout the world. This book can definately change your life.

It is about a little boy named Trevor who, for a social science extra credit project, invents a concept called "Paying it Forward." He does good deeds for three people... selfless deeds... and instead of having them pay him back, he tells them to pay it forward-- he makes them return the good deed to three other people. His dream is to make random acts of kindess an every day thing. Although he thinks he fails, he does end up reaching his dream.

So read it! Read it before the movie comes out! Read it because the movie is coming out! Learn the wonders of paying it forward... maybe it isn't just a dream.

Rating:
Summary: Almost excellent
Review: The story of the book is good, the way that Trevor makes his homework is amazing, the love story between Reuben and Arlene is fair enough, but the las two chapters and the epilogue you just can skip them, they make the story like a fairy tale, don't leave anything to your imagination, I think that is a big mistake.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting premise
Review: Reuben St.Clair is a horribly disfigured Vietnam vet. He's also a teacher beginning at a new school in Atascadero, Ca. In his class he has Trevor McKinney, a somewhat intense loner of a a fourteen-year old. The last major character is Trevor's mother, Arlene. She also has her flaws being a recovering alcoholic. Into this mix Reuben throws a simple yet difficult class assignment. He asks the kids to come up with one idea that is simple enough for one person to implement but that will change the world for the better. Trevor comes up with the idea of "Pay It Forward." Do good deeds for three different people but instead of having them pay him back they must pay it forward to three more people. The book then follows various people and how they're affected by these simple deeds.

I found the book compelling. The writing was clean and the characters were well done. They drew you into the book and kept you reading. The one thing I did like was that this was not treated as some sort of magical idea that immediately transformed everyone it touched. Jerry the junkie remained Jerry the junkie, but he did try to pay it forward. It's a good book, an interesting book, and above all an uplifting book. It may not be great literature but it is certainly worth the time spent reading it.

Rating:
Summary: What's wrong with being Utopian?
Review: I loved this book, but was not going to take the time to review it--but the last review about it being "overly utopian" ticked me off. In the movie, the teacher tells Trevor that the class thinks he's come up with an overly utopian idea. He says, "So?"

I'm on his side.

Also, I wish people wouldn't review books unless they have read them carefully. In the movie Trevor is 11. In the book, when he makes that comment about Chelsea Clinton being "a major babe" he is just a day or two shy of his 14th birthday. And it never says the world is perfect and there is no greed. Also the book starts with the gift of a 2-year-old Acura, where in the movie it's a brand-new Jaguar. In the book the boy helps an old lady with her garden. How can anyone say the favors in the book are outrageous and unbelievable compared to the movie? I don't know what book "Overly Utopian" read, but it wasn't the Pay It Forward I read.

Please, people, it's okay not to like a book but be fair and get your facts right.

Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: Pay it Forward is one of my favourite all time books. I was so annoyed when a saw a reveiw written by a certain person called Steven, whoever he is, who said that Pay it Forward was unrealistic.
It is a wonderful book packed with imagination, cliffhangers, humour and even tragedy! The ending had me crying! You get to know the characters so well, that it almost makes you want to scream when anything bad happens to them!

Rating:
Summary: Changing the World
Review: It is so cute the way that no matter what bad things happen to Trevor he always stays optimistic. A 13 year old boy gets an assignment to try and change the world and actually suceeds at doing this. The entire story is mainly told from the point of view of a reporter but sometimes it switches to Arlene (Trevor's Mom), Reuben (Trevor's Teacher), Trevor, or Jerry (A Person Trevor Tries to Help). The idea of paying it forward is one person is going to help three people and all of them have to help three other people and it just keeps going and going and it gets really high really fast. I would recommend this book to people who like the idea of someone changing the world or people who want a nice quick read.

Rating:
Summary: I'm really giving this 4 1/2 stars
Review: Okay, firstly, I command you to forget the movie ever existed. Done that? Good! Secondly, a warning- this is NOT a book for cynics who insist on being cynical.

Pay it Forward is a wonderfully refreshing novel about a boy in his early teens who decides to change the world. The characters are vivid and real- I found myself sympathizing with every one of them and really believing they were real. It's a fast read- if you've got some time on your hands and are determined to do so, you can read it easily in one sitting- the plot moves quickly and rarely ever slows down. It's sentimental, but not Hollywood sentimental, which is what the movie ended up being.

Hyde's style is crisp and terse, sometimes overly simplistic. This is a book that elementary school kids can read, it's that easy to understand, but this is also a book that older audiences can appreciate for its message and the inspiration it offers.

Rating:
Summary: Pay It Forward
Review: One boy, one plan, and a change in the world. When trevor gets a asignment in social studies he never would of thought it would change the world. A simplictic plan that seems idiot proof blows up in flames as trevor tries and fails to help three people. He doesnt relize that his plan actually worked even though he failed to help anyone. A junkie on the streets stayed a junkie even after trevor helped him, even though he didnt get helped he tried to pay it forward by trying to stop a girl from jumping off of a bridge. Pay It Forward is a dramatic and funfilled book.

Rating:
Summary: Would You Pay It Forward?
Review: A Review by Kelly

When Trevor got a simple Social Studies assignment to come up with a plan to change the world, he never would of guessed how far 1 favor to 3 people would go if each Paid It Forward. Who would have thought a twelve year-old boy with a dimple idea would really touch so many people and truly change the world.

This book was amazing, and inspiring. It showed so much about the Human Race, and that people do care what goes on in their world. This book is sort of hard to follow, and it's quite lengthy, but once you start reading it, you can't put it down. Everything does come together in the end. I also liked the characters, they were very well thought out, and each was very dynamic.

I would highly recommend this book to people who are looking for an inspirational book with a lot of emotion. This book was an amazing true story that I would read over and over.