Ruined: A Novel
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4.7 • 47 Ratings
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
A gripping supernatural mystery and romance set in post-Katrina New Orleans.Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans. She's staying in a creepy house with her aunt, who reads tarot cards. And at the snooty prep school, a pack of filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey gives Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, among the oak trees in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to show Rebecca the nooks and crannies of New Orleans. There's just one catch.Lisette is a ghost.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With this haunting love letter to New Orleans, Morris makes her YA debut, telling the story of 15-year-old Rebecca Brown, a proud New Yorker sent to live with a family friend while her father travels overseas. Ostracized as an outsider, Rebecca struggles to fit in and cope with her new surroundings. When she befriends Lisette, a ghost who has haunted the cemetery ever since her mysterious death 155 years earlier, Rebecca is drawn into an eerie story of betrayal, loss, old curses and family secrets. As Mardi Gras approaches, so does the culmination of something dark and angry that has been brewing for decades. This moody tale thoroughly embraces the rich history, occult lore and complex issues of race, ethnicity, class and culture that have defined New Orleans for centuries, turning the city into a character in its own right. Rather than shy away from the shameful or tragic moments of the past, Morris uses them to capture the city's essence. From Mardi Gras rituals to voodoo spells, Hurricane Katrina to jazz, this is a story that could only be told in New Orleans. Ages 12 up.
Customer Reviews
finally read after many years
i got this book at, i believe, a book fair back in late elementary or early middle school. i lived in louisiana, so of course i found it interesting! but i didn’t understand much of the plot or words back then, as i was more worried about typical younger girl things, like playing with my friends and such.
but this year, in 2024, probably almost if not 10 years later, i thought of this book randomly. with mardi gras around the corner, and me having moved a thousand miles away to north carolina, i HAD to pick this back up.
so i bought it on this apple store book thing. i couldn’t be happier to have finally read it in its entirety and to have understood all of the twists and turns it takes! being told from a third person point of view, this book held an abundance (especially toward the middle and end) of looming irony. you could almost feel what may happen next, as you knew more than the characters in certain moments. there was minimal filler and wonderful imagery (especially when you compare to the real place in louisiana) as well as a plot that kept you on the edge of your seat, unwilling to put this book down. i’ve spent the last few days reading almost nonstop every night before bed, and accidentally staying up later than i had planned because i couldn’t stop reading. beautifully written, i often found myself forgetting it wasn’t based on a true story!
i highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery, with a hint of romance and betrayal, as well as a taste of the paranormal :)
AMAZING BOOKK!!
I read this book back in middle school (I finished school now.) & I finished all the way through. This book is literally sooooo good & I’m going to go read the other parts of this. Good job making this!
It’s amazing
I love this book so much. I saw it in my school library and though ‘oh this book looks like my type.’ I read the description and though ‘oh cool. I’ll never read this’ the next week I started reading it and I didn’t want to do anything else. It was so go. I wanted to make a mini movie on YouTube for it but I had to return the book. So I bought it here so I always have it to read. New favorite book.