Customer Reviews

Ruby (Landry)

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I enjoyed the first half of this premiere novel in the Landry Saga far more the second half. All the gothic touches chill the reader in all the right places (I especially enjoyed the voodoo trappings), but the Cajun characters of Ruby's home were far more interesting than the spoiled rich brats in the New Orleans section of the story; and the tortures that Ruby endures at the hands of Gisselle and her cronies are so cruel and inhumane it makes the book difficult to enjoy. Nonetheless, there is more than enough mystery and intrigue in this family's story to make me want to immediately jump into the next book in the series the moment I finish this one.

I gave this book 3 stars because it did, in the end, achieve what it set out to do: it got me to buy the other books in the series. And it was an interesting read and a fast one. That being said, however, I think that this series more than any other (by V.C. Andrews) made me angry. I know that Andrews' characters are known for their...passivity, but Ruby really took it too far. She let everyone from her drunken, redneck grandpere to her to her whorish, jealous twin sister walk all over her. To tell you the truth, by the end of this first book, I was almost rooting for Giselle! At least she had a reason to act the way she did! She had been spoiled by her father, neglected by her adopted mother...she had to face the fact that her history wasn't what she had been told. She had to accept that she not only had a twin sister, but that the very same twin sister was moving into her house and usurping her place in her daddy's heart. And then? Then her sister stole her boyfriend! So...basically anything she wanted to do to Ruby was pretty much okay with me.

And speaking of the boyfriend...

Beau Andres was the most shallow, boorish, unlikable male lead I have ever come across. He dumped Giselle for Ruby, claiming to be oh so appreciative of her sweet virginity. Then at the first chance he gets he rapes her in her art studio! I don't care if she ended up enjoying the climax or not! She pleaded with him to stop about 50 times and he wouldn't! RAPE! And the fact that Ruby views this act not for the assault it is but for an indication of "love" is sickening. Their whole relationship was sickening...throughout this first book I kept hoping she'd run back to the swamps. I'd much rather have seen [having sex] with her brother than this lout. At least her brother treated her with some respect.

Still, in the end, the author did do a good enough job on the characters for me to get so angry with them...which I guess connotes good writing. Of a sort. My advice? Read it but take it with a grain of salt.

In "Ruby," we go deeper into the South, into Cajun country (Houma, Louisiana), where 15-year-old Ruby Landry lives in poverty with her grandparents, Grandmere Catherine and Grandpere Jack, never knowing who her parents were (her mother's dead, and her father is unknown at the moment). This is also one of the few books where the reader is aware of the time period in which the book takes place--the early 1960s.

As is typical with every V. C. Andrews heroine, Ruby has tremendous artistic talent and is encouraged by her grandmother to pursue her dreams of becoming a successful painter. However, several life-altering secrets arise to detour her from doing so. For starters, Ruby finds out her boyfriend (Paul Tate) is really her half-brother. (Imagine that.) Yet that doesn't really bother either of them, because they still get hot and heavy. Forbidden fruit and all that, I guess.

Ruby's second surprise comes when she finds a photo of her father, Pierre Dumas, and discovers that she has a twin sister living with him somewhere in New Orleans. Shortly after Grandmere Catherine confesses all of this, she dies, leaving Ruby in the care of her despicable, alcoholic Grandpere Jack, which was an obvious mistake, because he tries to sell her just like he did with her other two illegitimate siblings. So, Ruby flees Houma and searches for her wealthy family in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, a terrifically authentic setting that horror writer Anne Rice uses quite often in her own books; and it works just fine for V. C. Andrews as well in this series.

It's always interesting when I shop for V. C. Andrews books, because either her books are tucked away in the romance section, or they're mislabeled as horror. I've even found them in the kids section, but those are usually the recent miniseries books. While "Flowers in the Attic," for one, could probably be considered horror, most of her books are just dramatic family sagas, aka general fiction. There's nothing remotely scary about these books. It's more psychological, involving lurid family secrets (like rape and incest, which are hardly romance-friendly topics); that's probably why these books are branded "gothic horror."

Anyway, "Ruby" pretty much follows the same paint-by-numbers storyline that has been haunting practically every latter-day series by V. C. Andrews. Yet this is still a captivating series, filled with Cajun-style superstitions and horrible family secrets. Following "Ruby" comes "Pearl in the Mist" (#2), "All That Glitters" (#3), "Hidden Jewel" (#4), and "Tarnished Gold" (#5).

I started reading V.C. Andrews' novels well over 5 years ago in my high school library. I was never a fan of novels but after reading "Heaven" I was amazed. Andrews' novels always have a way of wanting you to read more that you somehow can't put the book down. Personally, "Ruby" and its series are my faves. As in all of her novel series, it makes you feel like you're part of the story and you're the main character. Andrews paints the picture so well and describes the most trivial things perfectly in her stories. I've yet to collect ALL her series... I'm done with the Logan series and I'm working on the Landry series :)

Girl finds the truth of her life, but thinks maybe life would have been better not to know the truth...Is the truth always good to know? Would life be better if we hide from the truth and pretend this does not exist? Read Ruby by V.C.Andrews to see how the truth comes out. A great deal of real life events and situations happen in this novel. I would certainly recommend reading Ruby. In Andrews' novel, Ruby, I found I could actually relate to some of the characters. One character I could relate to the most was the main character Ruby. She has many interesting reactions to some of the situations she gets put in, and I think I would react just the same way she had reacted. Seems the author may be trying to do a view on life and people, and how they relate to certain issues in the world today. For example, the author had Ruby go through a traumatic death of her grandmother. She had grown up and lived with this grandmother her whole life. I feel Andrews had her react as if people today would act in real life. Ruby acted very upset but realized she could not dwell on this forever because she would not be able to get anywhere in life. Ruby did not forget about this loved one, but she forgot about the horrible death and remembered all of the good times she had with her grandmother. Most people in real life today use this method also as a source of comfort, which is why I felt the author did a good job including this part in her novel. Another example of when the author connected Ruby to real life was when she learned her and her boyfriend were really brother and sister, by mother, and they could not be together. Ruby had fallen deeply in love with him and not much later found out she could no longer be with this guy. The author described Ruby's feelings very well to me. Makes me wonder how everything would be if I could not be with the person I love. What would I do? How would I react? I like this part of the story because I feel the author gets me involved in the situations with Ruby and makes me wonder in mind if this really did happen what would I do in this exact situation. If this were, I, I would probably react very upset and not know what to do at all. To sum it up, Ruby is a good novel that ties in a lot of real life situations so the reader can relate to what the author is saying. Having so many real life situations made the story very interesting. I have read other books by V.C.Andrews and enjoyed all of them. I think reading Ruby will get the reader interested in the story and motivate them to continue reading the rest of the series. I would definitely recommend anyone to read Ruby. This is surely a good start to what I'm sure will be a great series.

It was only by chance that i decided to read "ruby" and im glad i did. its the greatest book i have ever read...and i'vre read a lot of books! v.c. andrews has a unique way of touching her readers....is so cool! if your looking for an AWESOME book, read it!

I am sure that I, like most people, read the reviews to find out if a book I am about to buy is worth reading or not. But now I know I won't enjoy the book because the first three reviews I read told the entire story, including all the juicy details that makes the book worth reading. Please, please, please, stop writing plot summaries and stick to reviews that don't tell the whole story.

I have consumed VC Andrews' books since her debut with Flowers In The Attic so many years ago. That was a "scandalous" book to a seventh grader. The Dollanganger saga was the first complete series I had. I read My Sweet Audrina--yech--the Casteel series, and the Cutler series, but none really grabbed my interest like the Dollangangers had.

Enter Ruby Landry.

I absolutely LOVE these books. Next to my copy of The Stand and my Harry Potter books, these books sit in the place of honor. I have bought and rebought these books I don't know HOW many times. And I don't know why.

Probably because it takes place in Louisiana, which, even now, after Katrina, is still a favorite state, second only to my own Texas. Probably because the bulk of it concerns New Orleans, which is my favorite city to visit. It's a kick to read about the streetcar, which I've ridden, the Garden District, which I've toured, the French Quarter, you get the message. You read these books, and you can almost smell the creole / cajun food, hear the zydeco music playing and the cicadas chirping in the background. (And if you read them in the summer, it's even MORE realistic!)

But you get to genuinely like and care about Ruby. She's talented, beautiful, like all of VC Andrews' heroines..but she's a lot stronger, I think, than the others. Cathy, you almost dislike sometimes, because she knows she's beautiful and talented, that she gets arrogant from time to time. Heaven you just want to shake and yell, "GET OVER IT!!" and Dawn, you want her to PLEASE get a backbone and quit being such a whiny baby. But Ruby is gentle, humble, and strong..she'll take and take and take and then BOOM!! she'll fight back..although I was wondering at first how much of Giselle's crap she would take. She stands up and accepts her mistakes, tries to always takes the high road..but even in her moments of weakness, not for one minute does she appear weak--except maybe in All That Glitters. I mean, come on...I think God would accept a divorce from your half brother, don't you?

But I do love the Ruby books. In my opinion, they are VC Andrews best work.

Since V.C. Andrews' passing, her ideas have been churned out into worse serials. This is no exception. The term "Creole" is missused, and it seems like the editor, nor Ms. Andrews, has/had even been to Houma or New Orleans, what with their shoddy descriptions. Stay away from this and read the first two series: "Flowers in the Attic" and "Heaven," and the novel "My Sweet Audrina" for the best of V.C. Andrews.

Ruby is one of the best books I have ever read. Enthralling storyline, with twists and turns everywhere that make this book a real page turner. If I'm not mistaken, Ruby, along with the rest of the series, was published after the death of VC Andrews. The storyline and ideas were original Andrews, and parts of the story were written by the ghostwriter (who, IMHO, is not doing justice to the Andrews family with his works.) So even though it was mostly written by the ghostwriter, it still has the scent of original Andrews, and again this is one of the best books I have ever read. Ruby was definitely a heroic character, and I have no idea where the "Ruby is whiny and weak" came from in another review. Ruby is the strongest character. All the main characters in her stories are. Since I'm starting to rant and probably no longer making any sense, I'll just say one last thing: This story ROCKS!