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Eight year old
Lucy watches her grandmother Kitty say goodbye to Ruby – Kitty’s
daughter and Lucy’s mom. In the sterile not child friendly hospital
environment, all Lucy could do was watch and try to remember. The
realization that she alone could have caused the situation washes over
and seeps into the holes of her young soul.
The beginning of
this story is heart breaking because of the profound loss to this young
girl, and because she was unable to do what she wanted most. Bring her
mother back to life. The story then follows young Lucy as she struggles
to overcome grief and that dreadful overwhelming feeling when you begin
to forget those who have died.
Lucy soon tires of
her grandmother’s memories of Ruby and begins to search on her own. She
begins to uncover secrets, and at every turn realizes each secret is
something everyone knows. Everyone but Lucy. It’s not long before Lucy’s
adventures bring her to more truths than she maybe wanted to know and
her life is changed.
Family secrets are
not new, and guilt, death and lost memories will remain until the Lord
returns. But, in the same way new life, redemption, understanding and
faith, also remain. In A Ruby Among Us, the characters and setting bring
what could be an old tale, freshness and spark, touching on each of
these qualities.
This debut novel
is a good read.
Reviewed by Linda Mae Baldwin for The Road to RomanceApril
1, 2008 |
