Ruby: A Novel

by Francesca Lia Block, Carmen Staton

Overview

“[A] mesmerizing alchemy of fairy-tale fantasy and Hollywood glitz. . . about an L.A. nanny who uses magic to land the hunk of her dreams.” —People

From the beloved author of Necklace of Kisses comes a modern-day fairy tale of a willful and intuitive heroine and a world of shocking realism and transcendent magic

Francesca Lia Block, with co-writer Carmen Staton, introduces readers to Ruby, a Midwestern girl named for the jewel that is believed to ward off evil spirits. Ruby's special gift is a sixth sense that makes her at one with nature and gives her the ability to know her own destiny.

After growing up in an abusive family, Ruby escapes to Los Angeles and learns of her soulmate — Orion — a British actor. She travels to England, where she works at a potions and herbs shop, and through a series of coincidental circumstances, ends up nursing Orion back to health without confessing that she has been on a quest to find him all along. But just when she thinks her dream is becoming a reality, Ruby is stopped in her tracks by the violent demons of her past. Only by facing the darkness together can she and Orion finally fulfill their destiny.

In Ruby, readers will find a story about the power of our minds to overcome the past and ultimately change the course of our lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060840587
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/03/2007
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Francesca Lia Block, winner of the prestigious Margaret A. Edwards Award, is the author of many acclaimed and bestselling books, including Weetzie Bat; the book collections Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books and Roses and Bones: Myths, Tales, and Secrets; the illustrated novella House of Dolls; the vampire romance novel Pretty Dead; and the gothic werewolf novel The Frenzy. Her work is published around the world.

Reading Group Guide

After growing up in an abusive family where she learns she can take nothing for granted, Ruby escapes to Los Angeles to work as a nanny for the Martins, a well-connected family with two young children. Through her employers, Ruby learns of the existence of her soulmate—Orion Woolf—a handsome British actor whose mysterious disappearance is the talk of the entertainment industry.

In an effort to draw closer to Orion's world, Ruby travels to his rural home in England, where she finds work at a potions and herbs shop owned by his mother, Isabelle. Through a series of coincidences, Ruby winds up nursing Orion back to health without confessing the true reason for her presence in his town. But just when she thinks her dream is becoming a reality, Ruby is stopped in her tracks by the violent demons of her past. Only by facing the darkness together can she and Orion finally fulfill their destiny.

Questions for Discussion

QUESTION: 1. What does the opening scene of the novel suggest about the boy's relationship with his mother, and how does this scene become more significant later on when his identity is revealed?

QUESTION: 2. How does Ruby's victimization in childhood by her father affect her development as a young woman?

QUESTION: 3. To what extent does Ruby's awareness of the world around her shift back and forth between reality and fantasy, and how did you experience these shifts as a reader?

QUESTION: 4. How would you describe Ruby's relationship with Steven, and how significant to their relationship is his having been a part of her life when she was abused as a child?

QUESTION: 5. Why do Orion's biological parents conceal the truth of his parentage until he is thirteen, and how does that knowledge ultimately affect him?

QUESTION: 6. What propels Ruby to search out Orion's childhood home? Why does she feel he is her soulmate before she has even met him?

QUESTION: 7. What enables Ruby to heal Orion, and how does her transformation of him change the nature of their relationship?

QUESTION: 8. To what extent is Isabelle Woolf responsible for her son's involvement with Ruby? How would you characterize her powers as an herbalist?

QUESTION: 9. Why does Ruby remain terrified of her father after his death, and how does Orion enable her to overcome that fear?

QUESTION: 10. Ruby closes with a scene involving Ruby and her older sister, Opal. How does Opal connect Ruby to the magic that has protected her since childhood?

Editorial Reviews

Women weaned on young-adult author Block’s mesmerizing alchemy of fairy-tale fantasy and Hollywood glitz will fall under the spell of this grown-up romance, about an L.A. nanny who uses magic to land the hunk of her dreams.” — People

“Block collaborates on a novel yet maintains her trademarks: fairytale simplicity combined with wrenching emotional realism, served with a hefty side of over-the-top romance.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Block fans will recognize a lot of familiar themes here: the inextricable interrelationship of love and magic; the sacredness of the natural world; characters who, as children, were sexually abused or otherwise betrayed by adults. As always, the magic is truly magical, and the emotions are never less than deeply and honestly felt.” — Booklist

“As irresistibly smooth and refreshing as ice cream.” — Los Angeles Times

From the Publisher

Women weaned on ... Block’s ...fairy-tale fantasy and Hollywood glitz will fall under the spell of this grown-up romance...

People

...as irresistibly smooth and refreshing as ice cream.

|Los Angeles Times

...as irresistibly smooth and refreshing as ice cream.

Los Angeles Times

"Women weaned on ... Block’s ...fairy-tale fantasy and Hollywood glitz will fall under the spell of this grown-up romance..."

People Magazine

Stronger-willed than the father who abused her, a Midwestern girl sets out to find a better life. The dynamics of Ruby's father-dominated family life revolve around not getting caught alone with Dad in the basement. Ruby's older sister Opal gets the brunt of their father's sexual fury; their mother, a woman given to flights of fancy, never asks questions that might relieve her daughters' plight. Ruby's salvation comes from within: She has a vivid dream life; a sixth sense; and abundant love for nature, the animals she finds in the woods around her family's home and the spirits she senses but cannot see. For much of her life, she has known she must leave home, and when the opportunity arises-she is offered a job as nanny to two beloved children of a wealthy L.A. couple-she takes it. But there she learns that it's only the first step of her journey. Next, she needs to find her soulmate, and does so among the DVDs in the family film library. His name is Orion, a young British actor who has taken an unexplained leave of absence from Hollywood. Ruby travels to his hometown in England, ingratiates herself with his parents-the mother is a crone who sells potions and herbs; the father is a professor who researches the power of the feminine-and eventually is asked to help the parents, who have been secretly caring for Orion, injured months before in a fall from a horse. Ruby, whose dream world often bleeds into her reality, is at once frightened of her visions and willed by them. Many themes recurrent in Block's work (Necklace of Kisses, 2005, etc., and the YA Weetzie Bat series) merge in this novel-magic, domestic violence, self-determination, the fortitude of women-and although the premise isslight and familiar, the storytelling casts a spell that transforms the narrative into something more. A moody fairy tale of hope.

Kirkus Reviews