My sincere thanks to Lake Union Publishing and @netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read Life, Loss, and Puffins by Catherine Ryan Hyde. I give my unbiased opinion of the book in the following review.

Ru Evans is "freakishly smart". At least that's how Ru's mother describes her. She is bored in school and her mother finally consents to letting her go to a college 150 miles from home. There she boards with the Gulbranson's and instantly hits it off with 17-year-old Gabriel. There is no crush or romantic attraction, they are more like siblings. Gabriel also stands out and is misunderstood because he likes to wear eyeliner, fingernail polish and keep his hair long. He and Ru develop a bond where they can even communicate without words. When Ru's mother dies unexpectedly, she faces going to live with a not so nice aunt in Kentucky. Rather than meet this fate, she and Gabriel hatch a plan to run away with several goals. They want to go to a dark place and observe the stars; visit the Arctic Circle and experience seeing the Aurora Borealis; and see an Atlantic Puffin up close. Amazingly enough, they are able to slip away without being followed. The rest of the book is about their adventure and its consequences.

I enjoyed this book, as I have several other Hyde books. She has an easy to read no nonsense way of writing that draws the reader in to the story. I was invested in Ru and Gabriel's adventure even though it seemed kind of farfetched. I loved them referring to themselves as their "herd" and how they had such a close connection. The description of their trip into Canada was detailed and interesting. It was hard to imagine young people undergoing such a trip. The only thing I wished as I finished the book was a little more about where they ended up and what they were doing. Overall, it was a very good read and I know a lot of people I plan to recommend it to. ( )