Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea

Written by Morgan Callan Rogers

Narrated by Luci Christian

When her mother disappears during a weekend trip, Florine Gilham’s idyllic childhood is turned upside down. Until then she’d been blissfully insulated by the rhythms of family life in small town Maine: watching from the granite cliffs above the sea for her father’s lobster boat to come into port, making bread with her grandmother, and infiltrating the summer tourist camps with her friends. But with her mother gone, the heart falls out of Florine’s life and she and her father are isolated as they struggle to manage their loss. 
 
Both sustained and challenged by the advice and expectations of her family and neighbors, Florine grows up with her spirit intact. And when her father’s past comes to call, she must accept that life won’t ever be the same while keeping her mother vivid in her memories. 
 
With Fannie Flagg’s humor and Elizabeth Stroud’s sense of place, this debut is an extraordinary snapshot of a bygone America through the eyes of an inspiring girl blazing her own path to womanhood.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Jan 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781611746303

Reviews for Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea

[draak_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ruby Red Heart in A Cold Blue Sea starts in the 1960's in a small coastal Maine town where everyone knows everyone elses business. When Florine's mother disappears during a weekend trip with a friend, Florines's childhood is turned upside down. With her mother gone, the heart goes out of Florine's life and she and her father struggle with their loss. The story starts when Florine is 12 and takes us through 6 years. Florine has three good friends, Dottie, Bud and Glen who are there for her. Florine's grandmother lives across the road from her and her father, and it is to her house that Florine runs to when Stella makes a play for her dad. And then the rest of the town folks. I liked this book and really liked all the characters except Stella. No matter how hard I tried I just didn't like her. I think the only thing I wished was that there was a conclusion of what happened to Carlie. There was no closure there and I think it would have added to the book. But all in all a good book. I won this book from Goodreads.

[dpappas_25 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

To me this book was everything the blurbs said it would be and I loved it. This book drew me in and drew so much emotion out of me that I was touched by this book. Florine was such a compelling character who finds herself having to deal with so much grief. I feel like anyone that has lost someone close to them can really relate to her, I know I did. Morgan Callan Rogers has a way of creating characters, not just Florine, that readers will grow to love. I ended up loving every character in this book, even Stella who I hated for most of the book. I just can't say enough good things about this book. I highly recommend this book to everyone but especially to book clubs. [I received this book from a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. The content of my review is not affected by that in any way.]

[thelostentwife · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book charmed the heck outta me. Right away, while reading a description of a time long past, a coast I’d never seen, and a girl and her mother making a spontaneous trip, I fell in love. Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea is the perfect coming-of-age story for an older generation of women, and for the younger generation as well so they can get a glimpse of what life was like.Here’s what I love the most about this captivating little story. There are no neat endings, no tidy wrap-ups, and no cliches. Instead there is heartfelt emotion, and it’s raw.. and it hurts, and I wanted to rage right along with Florine at the unfairness of life – but bravo to Rogers for making life unfair, because that’s what made this book real. It was so real I could smell the salty air, and I could see the hot tears on Florine’s face, and feel her rage as she acts out against the adults in her life, you know – the adults who actually stuck around for her.When I first finished this book, I sat it down and I looked at it and I thought.. that was okay, but .. do I want more? And now that I’ve had time to sit back and think, to let the story settle, I am really, really appreciating this story for being the gem it is.

[milibrarian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This debut novel is a great coming of age story. Florine lives in coastal Maine and enjoys spending time with her friends and family. However, when she is 12 her mother suddenly disappears with no trace. Her father turns to alcohol and another woman to drown his sorrow; Florine would left to fend for herself if it wasn't for her grandmother's help. Set against the backdrop of the 196o's with its assassinations and the Vietnam War, this is the story of a girl growing up, learning what it means to love, and how to deal with loss. This is an author to watch. This book will appeal to those who enjoyed Cold, Sassy Tree.

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Florine is 12 when her mother disappears during an annual trip she always too with a friend. Dad can't cope, starts drinking way too much and Florine goes to live down the street with her gran. Loved the character of the grandmother, she reminded me so much of the grandmother I used to have, always ready with a quick hug, or food or a special little treat. This is a wonderful coming of age novel and Florine is a wonderful character. Sh grows up always with the spectral image of her mother in the background. This does not have a tidy ending, where everything is nicely wrapped up and they all live happily ever after, but than again real life isn't either.

[jbd1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Morgan Callan Rogers' debut novel, Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea, (Viking, 2012) brought to mind one of my favorite fiction titles from 2010: Beverly Jensen's The Sisters of Hardscrabble Bay Both books are set in coastal Maine, both feature a wonderful cast of thoroughly human characters, and both made me laugh out loud at some points and shed tears at others. Rogers' story follows Florine Gilham, a young woman growing up in a small, rural community along Maine's rocky coast. Her peaceful childhood is shattered by the abrupt disappearance of her mother, and that's just the first in a string of life-altering events that Florine and her family and small band of loyal friends (and in fact their entire small town) must face together.Filled with the local details that bring a book like this to life, as well as the classic themes of a good coming-of-age story, this is a wonderfully moving novel worthy of much attention.

[flippinpages-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book. Best novel I've read in 2014 so far. Finally an author that can write a child narrator that is believable. One thing I appreciated about the story is that I never knew where it was going. Realistic dialogue that never felt forced. Will be watching this author for more, maybe even a sequel.