Customer Reviews

Ruby Holler

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Orphaned twins Florida and Dallas are known as troublemakers and stuck in a children's home controlled by monster-like adults. After years of waiting, Sairy and Tiller, a wonderfully kind couple older couple, adopt them. Florida and Dallas think of running away, but...

Need I say more? This book isn't really bad, it's just a little too cutesy and way too predictable. I think a book should take you on journey, make you think, and leave you wondering about some things. From the moment I picked up on all the details of this book's setting, I knew pretty much exactly what was going to happen. Basically, "Ruby Holler" follows the good ol' "happily ever after" formula a little too closely.

The best things about Sharon Creech's most recent offering are the characters. Florida's constant expression of "putrid" will always coax a smile from you, and Dallas has some good moments, too. Sairy and Tiller bring a measure of "grandparently" comfort to the story, and their (especially Sairy's) musings about life and enlightening stories about her experiences are glimmers of Creech at her best. "Ruby Holler" would no doubt be enjoyed by a middle- to upper-elementary audience, but it certainly isn't the author's best work.

Ruby Holler is the story of "the trouble twins", 13-year-old Dallas and Florida, who have spent their lives living in the dilapidated Boxton Creek Home. They've had many failed foster parent experiences, some terrifying, some grim, and they are very wary of adults. They remind me a bit of Tony and Tia Malone in Escape to Witch Mountain (another pair of twins who seem unable to keep out of trouble, and who no one seems to want).

An elderly couple asks the twins to come and live with them in their country home in Ruby Holler (named for the red maple trees in the fall), to help with a project. The twins by this point have serious trust issues, and keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But Tiller and Sairy Morey are different from anyone that the twins have encountered before. Together, the four embark on a series of adventures in the lush, rural Ruby Holler.

This book reminded me a little bit of Louis Sachar's Holes, with the bleakness of the Boxton Creek Home, and the quirkiness of the Moreys (although the main setting is the exact opposite of the setting in Holes). Throughout the book, we learn about the various other homes that the twins have lived in, gradually coming to understand their prickliness and acting out. In parallel, we watch Dallas and Florida, and Sairy and Tiller, gradually changing one another. It's a story about love and patience and second chances, and suspense and adventure, too.

There are many small things to like about the book. I love the way that Sairy and Tiller are with each other, two halves of a whole, with their own unusual endearments. I smiled at the way that Dallas has of painting a positive future with words, even when things seem bleak. And I laughed out loud at some of the wonderful foods cooked up by the Tillers: mission-accomplished-cake, be-nice-to-orphans brownies, and welcome-home-bacon. Even the names of the dreadful owners of the Boxton Creek Home, the Trepids (as in, the reverse of intrepid?) are clever and apt.

This is a book that you'll enjoy while you're reading it, and feel good about afterward. It's suitable for fairly young kids, with lots of dialog, and short chapters. The bleak incidents in Dallas and Florida's past have an exaggerated quality, like a Roald Dahl story, rendering them less disturbing than they might be otherwise. This book won a much-deserved 2002 Carnegie Medal.

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on June 17th, 2006.

Ruby Holler is an excellent book. I liked it because there is suspense and funny points. It was fun to read about how troublesome the twins, Dallas and Florida, are and how different foster families managed them. I have read other novels by Sharon Creech and I personally think that this is one of her best books ever. I recommend this book to people who like adventure and a bit of mystery.

This book is a bit dissapointing. Sharon doesn't work her magic into it as much as her other books. The book just flows through, with only a bit of exciting moments. I recomend this to Creech Fans...but it may be appeeling to the younger audience. I am thirteen, and I didn't find it that interesting. I am a person who re-reads books alot, but I dont think I'll be doing that here.

13 year old Dallas and Florida live in a Orphanage that is dready and hateful. They were known as the "Trouble Twins"..Sairy and Tiller, who are 60 yrs old, there kids are long gone, and they want to have an adventure, so they take Dallas and Florida from the orphanage and they have many adventures across the land. They enjoy spending their time with them, and maybe, even keep them...

Ruby Holler is about twin orphans, Dallas and Florida. Dallas and Florida have lived in an orphanage all their lives and can't seem to keep a home, or even want to, until Sairy and Tiller come along. Sairy and Tiller are an elderly couple that lives on Ruby Holler and each need an accompaniment for their summer adventures. At first, Dallas and Florida are not very happy that they have to spend the whole summer with Tiller and Sairy, but eventually grow to really like staying at the Holler. Everyone spends the beginning of the summer getting ready for their big trips. Dallas will be off with Sairy hiking, and Florida and Tiller will be going on a river rafting trip. But, everything runs haywire when everyone decides to take a "practice" vacation to get ready for the big trip. Dallas and Florida realize that the Holler is the best place they've ever stayed and end up not wanting to leave.

Sharon Creech is a great writer and is very detailed so you always know what everyone is thinking and doing. I recommend this book to everyone because it is a really good book. It's a book that has a lot of suspense, adventure, and is pretty funny throughout the story. Everyone should read this. Give a holler for Ruby Holler!

As an elementary school teacher, I am continually on the look out for quality books to read to my class. Ruby Holler is definitely the next one I will read. The characters Dallas and Florida are delightfully engaging - right from the start! Children hearing or reading the story will be drawn in quickly. Even though "predictable" is generally not a good thing in books- and the end is a bit predictable - this happy ending was the only one I could have imagined!

Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech is the story of Dallas and Florida, two adventuresome 13-year-old orphans, who had been tossed through family after family. Just when they think that no family in the world will ever accept these two children tornadoes, they come across the opportunity of a lifetime to get out of their orphanage and away from the two people they hate most, Mr. and Mrs. Trepid. An elderly couple asks the twins if they'd like to join them on one last adventure. After accepting this offer and living in Ruby Holler, the twins discover its magic and never want to leave again, but when people with selfish intentions hear about money buried in the holler, secrets begin to unravel.

I would strongly recommend this book to all audiences who desire a book full of freakishly unpredictable events with troublesome kids involved in dangerous plots. Those are the best kind. The true message this book offers is that if you try and don't succeed, just try and try again. It also shows that even kids with a history of being reckless and misbehaving do have some good in the bottom of their hearts. It is very difficult to find books that you get your nose stuck in and you want to read again, but this is one of those.

Sharon Creech is a prolific writer of poignant, quality kids' novels. "Ruby Holler" is not one of her more memorable efforts, however. The plot (told in short, readable chapters) involves some twins who are at a crummy orphanage until they are adopted for the summer by an elderly pair who live a rustic life in the woods. Eventually the two pairs warm each other's hearts, while the orphanage owner plots to steal the old folks' money. My problem with this novel was that it seemed so random at times, going inside the heads of and giving humanity and depth to its villains for no apparent reason, and leaving some important things (like what happens after we find out who the kids'parents are, itself an unlikely twist) unresolved. The inner workings of the characters seem ambivalent at times - is it best for the wife to go off and take a trip by herself or to stay home with her loving husband? I don't know. I don't much care, actually. Nonetheless, this is a pleasant read for those who will root for the kids to find a happy home.

The book I read is by Sharon Creech. The name of it is Ruby Holler. She is an amazing author that wrote other books such as Love That Dog, Walk Two Moons, The Wanderer, and many more. This was a great book like all the other ones I read of hers.

This story is about two kids called Dallas and Florida. These two mischievous twins are a little out of hand at times but really they just want to have fun. They get sent to this horrible orphanage run by the Trepids. The Trepids are mean, cranky, and old people who love rules. They make Dallas and Florida sit in a thinking corner and have to sit in corners for dinner. The orphans have to eat horrible food and the Trepids make good food for themselves. Things don?t look good though and something good happens, Tiller and Sairy adopt Dallas and Florida. Florida thinks that they are going to be mean to them and wants to hop on a midnight train. Dallas thinks otherwise, he thinks it may not be too bad and that they should wait. Sairy is taking Dallas on vacation with her and Tiller is taking Florida on vacation with him. Something bad happens though, will Tiller survive?

Ruby Holler
Sharon Creech

Dallas and Florida have been together since they were found on the steps of Mr. and Ms. Trepids orphanage. The girl, Florida is a rebel she will not do any thing the Trepids say. The boy Dallas is a quite and peaceful who also likes nature. One day a couple named Tiller and Sairy go to the Trepids orphanage, and see Dallas and Florida they decide that they want to adopt them. So the next day the twins go home with Tilller and Sairy. When they get there the twins are amazed, the warm little house in the country is so different from the cold orphanage they are used to.

I really liked this book because I have read all the other books by this author and really liked them so it was no surprised after I read it that this was a very good book. I also liked it because the way the author uses detail in explaining the characters, and by the end of the book you feel like you really know. I would really recommend this book to people who are fans of Sharon Creech.