Saving Ruby King
A Novel
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3.5 • 6 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by Ms. Magazine, USA Today Book Riot, The Rumpus, Library Journal, PureWow, The Every Girl, Parade and more.
“Forever and to the end. That’s what they say instead of I love you.”
When Ruby King’s mother is found murdered in their home in Chicago’s South Side, the police dismiss it as another act of violence in a black neighborhood. But for Ruby, it’s a devastating loss that leaves her on her own with her violent father. While she receives many condolences, her best friend, Layla, is the only one who understands how this puts Ruby in jeopardy.
Their closeness is tested when Layla’s father, the pastor of their church, demands that Layla stay away. But what is the price for turning a blind eye? In a relentless quest to save Ruby, Layla uncovers the murky loyalties and dangerous secrets that have bound their families together for generations. Only by facing this legacy of trauma head-on will Ruby be able to break free.
An unforgettable debut novel, Saving Ruby King is a powerful testament that history doesn’t determine the present and the bonds of friendship can forever shape the future.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Love can bring people together, but in this eye-opening thriller, two brave young women learn that secrets and lies can do the same. Ruby’s world all but crumbles when her mother is tragically murdered, leaving the 24-year-old alone with her angry, unstable father. The police barely pretend to care about another violent death on Chicago’s South Side. But Ruby’s best friend, Layla, understands her situation, and when Layla’s own family starts trying to come between them, the friends uncover a dark secret that has bound their troubled families together for generations. First-time novelist Catherine Adel West explores Ruby and Layla’s story through a multitude of points of view spanning decades, weaving together a tragic mystery fraught with heartbreak and suspense. We couldn’t wait to discover whether the ugly truth would finally free Ruby and Layla from the vicious cycle of violence—or doom them to repeat it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
West's ambitious, keenly observant debut follows two friends growing up on Chicago's South Side, where the cycle of domestic violence repeats over generations. When Ruby King's mother, Alice, is murdered, Ruby loses her protector, and her best friend, Layla Potter, works diligently to fill the role. West unfolds the map of their neighborhood and their families' connections in chapters alternating between the present and the 1960s, when Ruby's father, Lebanon, the child of his mother Sara's rape by her own father, is abused by her. Traumatized, Lebanon becomes abusive in turn on his own family. As a teenager, Lebanon's childhood friend Jackson, Layla's father, was responsible for another teenage boy's death, but Lebanon is imprisoned for manslaughter in his stead. Freed after five years, Lebanon starts blackmailing Jackson, now pastor of Calvary Hope Christian Church. (In a remarkably effective literary device, West has the church building itself "narrate" some of the chapters.) As Layla vows to rescue Ruby from Lebanon's rage and self-harm after Alice's murder especially after Layla dreams of three mysterious matriarchs insisting "Go!" plot twists lead to a climactic confrontation in Ruby's grandmother's Tennessee home. Despite some excessive melodrama and repetitive dialogue, West's tale of grace, redemption, and hope would translate handily to the screen. This should enjoy wide popularity with book groups.
