Catherine Ryan Hyde is a New York Times bestselling author for a good reason. Through her books and the stories she shares, she reaches into our heart and tugs gently on its strings. Her latest novel, ROLLING TOWARD CLEAR SKIES, is a lovely example of those qualities. In this emotional story, we meet Maggie Blount, a doctor and a divorced mother of two teenagers. With her boyfriend Alex, a nurse, she has a nonprofit, Doctors on Wheels.

In the opening pages, Maggie and Alex are interviewed by local newscaster Eleanor Price about Doctors on Wheels, which provides medical care in the aftermath of disasters at no cost to patients. A retired doctor husband and wife team also accompany Maggie and Alex in an RV. The nonprofit has a huge motor coach that is the clinic, and there is another RV for Maggie and Alex. Soon, all four are on their way to deliver help following a hurricane in Louisiana. While there, Maggie treats two girls who are the same age as her daughters, Gemma and Willa. Jean and Rose have lost everything, including their parents, as Maggie soon realizes.

As the days pass, the girls, who are recovering from pneumonia, stay in the camper van, and Maggie grows attached to them. In a sad way, she realizes how sweet and unspoiled Jean and Rose are, especially when compared to her own daughters. We've seen how Gemma and Willa, both seeming to be the worst of entitled, coddled, California teens, speak disparagingly and disrespectfully to their mother. Maggie doesn't know what she did wrong to end up with such poorly behaved children, who seem to consistently demonstrate a moral compass that's taken an unfortunate and disturbing turn for the worse.

"Hyde's writing, the dialogue, the events and the messages are powerful and engaging. She demonstrates that through kindness and compassion, we can change a small piece of the world."

Maggie can't bear to have Jean and Rose go to a foster home with strangers after their ordeal, so she decides to foster them and bring them back to California with her. They arrive accompanied by the terrified, untrained, emaciated puppy who appeared under the camper the second night after the hurricane. Kindhearted Rose fell in love with the dog, and Maggie simply couldn't separate the two of them. Her daughters aren't pleased with two new "sisters" or a mongrel of uncertain heritage. Gemma had wanted a designer puppy from a friend's mother who bred them.

In fact, the two girls are so angry that they move out of Maggie's house and stay with their father. Maggie isn't happy about it, but she concentrates on helping Jean and Rose adjust to their new situation. It's apparent how kind, unassuming and undemanding they are. Both are grateful for the care and affection that Maggie and Alex provide. They also adore their puppy, although he has behavior issues of his own.

Hyde does a superb job of making Maggie's daughters seem very unlikable as they are concerned with their clothes, their makeup and what their friends think. Gemma and Willa ridicule Jean and Rose for the way they talk, the fact that they don't care about the same things, and their "lesser" background. Maggie begins counseling with Jean and Rose, but Gemma and Willa refuse to attend. While Maggie loves her daughters, she doesn't like them very much at this point.

One of the novel’s messages is that sometimes something really bad has to happen to force change. It doesn't seem that Gemma and Willa will adjust their attitude, but then, during another interview with the same newscaster, disaster strikes. By speaking out about their dislike of their newly adopted sisters and how unfair the situation is, Gemma and Willa become a national disaster of their own. The cruel things they say, their all-too-obvious sense of entitlement, and their pettiness make them go shockingly viral on social media, and they are mortified. They feel that their lives are ruined.

Hyde wants us to consider that sometimes you have to reach rock bottom before, like a phoenix, you can emerge whole from the ashes. That's what happens after this debacle. We see people sticking together and sticking up for each other. We see acts of kindness and compassion, even when those on the receiving end of those humane acts perhaps do not merit them. And meeting the challenge, imperfectly to be sure, are Maggie, her two biological daughters and her two adopted daughters.

As with all of Hyde's books, there is a happy ending after some very bittersweet events. There are truths to be faced, mistakes to be pondered, and errors to be rectified where possible. Lessons are learned, and hearts and minds are changed. And in these pages, we've met people the likes of whom we may know, because we all have encountered teenagers, or even adults, who are the inevitable result of a coddled, spoiled upbringing. On the other hand, there are people who began working when they were young to earn pocket money and who knew that if they wanted something, they would have to work to earn it. They understand the need to work diligently, be responsible and treat others respectfully. We see the disconnect between the two sets of girls, and we understand how hard it is for Gemma and Willa. But darn it, we just like the other two girls so much more.

Maggie seems to be an empath, feeling the emotions of those around her, especially when those emotions are strong. Hyde knows and loves animals, and she writes about two dogs who suffer in disasters. Both are much loved by children. The second one, Buster, was saved from a fire by his boy, his buddy, who risked severe burns and then insisted that Maggie tend to his dog before treating him.

In this emotional narrative, there is also a place for humor. Hyde has rescued many dogs (and cats), and one event in the story must be based on an actual occurrence. The morning after they arrive back in California, the new untrained puppy has an accident in Maggie's bedroom. Hyde writes, "She saw a loose, barely shaped mound of stool in the corner of the rug, half on the light-colored fringe and half on the hardwood floor. It was surrounded by a yellowish puddle." As anyone who has ever had a puppy knows, if he or she is going to have an accident on a rug, it will be on the fringe, which is the most difficult part to clean.

Hyde knows firsthand the healing, redemptive power of a dog or cat. Like so many of her books, ROLLING TOWARD CLEAR SKIES brings to mind the fact that family is the most important thing of all. Family is not just those who are related by blood, but also those whom we choose to bring into our lives and hearts. Equally important is the concept that while we all make mistakes, we can change. Hyde's writing, the dialogue, the events and the messages are powerful and engaging. She demonstrates that through kindness and compassion, we can change a small piece of the world.