Book Review: RUBY by Francesca Lia Block with Carmen Staton

Ruby
by Francesca Lia Block
Pages: 224
Publication Date: July 3, 2007
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
ISBN-10: 0060840587
ISBN-13: 978-0060840587

Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction:

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, this time 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.

As with Necklace of Kisses, Block, here with Staton, breaks the mold. 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.

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This book came as a surprise. I never expected the tale of Ruby to be told this way.

Simple, romantic, inspired - a fairytale story combined with real, emotional elements that compels the reader to read through the bottom of the page without skipping a word and to turn the page to know what happens next.

I will not gush and squeal about this like I did the other books that I love, because something about this book made me want to go sit by the window with a hot mug of chocolate, look out into the pouring rain, reflect about life and after a pause, smile that secret smile.

All in all, fantastically done.