Ruby: A Novel

By Francesca Lia Block

“[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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061753350

Francesca Lia Block

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.

Reviews for Ruby

[catfantastic_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ruby is an abused girl, beaten and raped by her father, she creates magical worlds of talking trees and guardian goddesses. After getting a job as a nanny for the Martin family, she begins to watch movies and falls in love with the young English actor, Orion Woolf. She gives up her job as a nanny and travels to England, to the little village where Orion grew up, and gets a job working at his mother's Wiccan shoppe. Ruby immerses herself in magic in an attempt to heal herself and free herself from her nightmarish childhood. She is also driven by her desire to win Orion's heart. It is an obsession, and her relationship with Orion is not healthy - at the start. There is a point where she realizes she doesn't really know Orion and she hasn't overcome her past. Ruby's story was heartbreaking for me. I really connected with the character and her struggle. This is a slim little 200 page book but, for me anyway, it packs a punch.

[mmillet_7 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Odd little book about a girl named Ruby who has a Knowing. The I’m-not-sure-why-I-know-something-but-I-do sort of Knowing. After a rough childhood – alcoholic and abusive father – she decides to search out the movie star Orion, knowing that they are destined to be together. Because hey, somebody has to be with the gorgeous hunk, so why not her, right? Even with the ultimate themes centered around healing and becoming a new person fueled by love I felt this book was a little too dark. I just didn’t feel the light that should have been there to off set the bleakness that comprised so much of the book.

[xicanti_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A young woman with a troubled past discovers her soul mate.I wish I could give this one a rave review, but the book just didn't do much for me. On the surface, I should have loved it. The authors begin with a good premise rife with emotional impact. They structure the story in such a way that each small event layers onto those that have come before. There are some beautiful passages. And yet, the book just didn't speak to me.I think it's because I never felt that the authors delved deeply enough. They gloss over quite a bit. Sometimes, I've found that this works to great effect in Block's novels; here, it didn't. There just weren't enough of the beautiful, telling moments that make stories like this really come to life. I didn't feel as though I were placed in a position to understand Ruby's love for Orion. It felt like infatuation, and unhealthy infatuation at that. It wasn't until the very end that I began to get a sense of what they might mean to each other... and by then, it was far too late.On the plus side, the magic was nicely incorporated into the story.Is this must-read Block? Sadly, no. (I can't say how it measures up to Staton's work, as this is my first experience with her). If she hadn't had a hand in it, I would be perfectly happy to pass it along to someone else. I've sometimes found, though, that I get a great deal more out of her stories the second time through, so I'm keeping it around just in case it clicks after another reading.

[readerspeak_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although I enjoyed this as I read it, just a couple months later I don't remember much of it. I enjoyed the natural elements in this book, but the characters did not "walk off the page" in a way that made them memorable for me.

[raspberrybee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a decent book. It was told in a somewhat strange way. I wish that it had been longer and the characters had been developed more.

[paisley1974 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Francesca Lia Block does not disappoint! Her latest is fabulous, as usual! Ruby uses her magical affinities to shed the abuse of her past, while keeping the good, and searching out a good future with Orion, her beloved.