Ruined: A Novel [Hardcover]

Paula Morris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2009

A gripping YA supernatural novel set in New Orleans: TWILIGHT with a ghostly twist.

Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She's staying in a creepy old house with her Aunt Claudia, who reads Tarot cards for a living. And at the snooty prep school, a pack of filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

PAULA MORRIS is also the author of several adult fiction novels. She lives in New Orleans and knows the city's nooks and crannies first hand.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 309 pages
• Publisher: Point; 1 edition (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545042151
• ISBN-13: 978-0545042154
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (157 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #470,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paula Morris is a novelist and short story writer from New Zealand. For ten years, she worked in London and New York, first as a publicist and marketing executive in the record business, and later as a branding consultant and advertising copywriter.

She is the author of two novels for young adults, both published by Scholastic: RUINED, a mystery with a supernatural twist set in New Orleans; and the forthcoming DARK SOULS, a novel set in the ancient - and haunted - city of York, England.

Paula is also the author of award-winning novels for adults, published by Penguin Books in her native New Zealand: QUEEN OF BEAUTY (2002); HIBISCUS COAST (2005); and TRENDY BUT CASUAL (2007). Paula's short stories have been widely published and broadcast in both New Zealand and the US, and her short story collection, Forbidden Cities (2008), was a regional finalist in the 2009 Commonwealth Prize. She is the editor of THE PENGUIN BOOK OF CONTEMPORARY NEW ZEALAND SHORT STORIES (2008).

Both HIBISCUS COAST and RUINED have been optioned for film.

Paula has degrees from universities in New Zealand, the U.K. and the US, including an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She recently moved from New Orleans to Glasgow, Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ruined - A Ghost Story, August 26, 2009

By 

Keith Blodgett "Hawk" (Palm Bay, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ruined: A Novel (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

In a nutshell: Pleasantly Surprised.

When I first started this novel I worried that it would be an angsty, teenage complaint fest. It does start off that way a bit. But then angst and complaints are not an unexpected reaction from a fifteen year old who has been taken out of her school and sent off to live with an 'aunt' for the next six months.

Fifteen year old Rebecca's father, a high powered tech consultant, has to travel to out of the country for an extended business trip. Not wanting to burden the elderly neighbor who normally looks after Rebecca during short business trips he packs her off to stay with 'Aunt' Claudia a Tarot card reader (and something of a clairvoyant) and Claudia's daughter Aurelia in post Katrina New Orleans.

Moving away from her friends would have been bad enough but Aunt Claudia's damp, strange, shotgun style house is stuffed to the rafters with Voodoo talismans, monkey skulls, Buddha statues and the like. Topping that off she's also been enrolled in a snooty, upper-crust, school where friends are few and far between.

Upon spying several of the popular kids sneaking into a nearby cemetery late one night she follows to see what they're up to. After nearly being caught eves dropping on the partying teenagers she runs into Lisette who helps her escape unseen.

After several more chance encounters she learns Lisette is the ghost of a girl about her age who met a horrible end and is told about a terrible curse laid over a hundred years ago on one of her new schoolmate's families.

The story paces well. I finished it rather quicker than expected. It's well written. An easy read. It moves enjoyably from beginning to a rather dramatic and exciting ending. This was categorized on Amazon as 'Juvenile Fiction' but I feel that it will appeal to adults and teens alike who are looking for a bit of light reading.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great ghost story!, September 17, 2009

By 

Nanciejeanne "Enjay" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ruined: A Novel (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Without giving too much away, this book is a great New Orleans ghost story. It offers the younger reader (I would say tween and up) some nice info about the city, especially Mardi Gras, and a little history. The author makes the main character real and easy for the reader to relate to. There are also some underlying messages of racism, privilege, and bullying. The character does do some things a parent wouldn't like (such as sneaking out of the house at night to go into a graveyard) but nothing that is not in the realm of many teens' imaginations. I read it an immediately passed it onto my daughter, who is appreciating the story and now wanting to learn more about New Orleans history. Most of the main characters are female, but it isn't about fashion, hairstyles, etc. that would preclude it from a boy. Overall, I thought it was a great ghost story that wasn't overly scary and not inappropriate for a younger reader. Nice treat for Halloween-time!!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Ghoul Tale, August 2, 2009

By 

Lost in a Book (Atco, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ruined: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book was as much a historic delight as a ghost story delight. I really enjoyed learning so much about New Orleans past and felt I could really picture the setting of the story because the author spent so much time describing New Orlean's past and present. Every time I pass a cemetary now I get disappointed knowing that in New Orleans there are these elaborate tombs and elevated cemeteries.

I could tell that this book was written with a lot of love. The author put care into even the most despicable characters which made the book that much better. It was written so well, too. I felt like I wasn't reading, rather sneaking into the Lafayette Cemetary with Rebecca and watching the parades of Mardi Gras.

Exhilarting. That's what that last half of the book was. I never knew what was going to happen and when it did I had to have an inhaler on hand. It was the kind of ghost story I used to hear around my campfire (less paranormal and more human) and I think those are the scariest. The ghost had history and her own character and after I really was connected to her story then something happened that totally threw me off. In a good way. I didn't know what to believe until the end!

I reccommend this to anyone who likes history and truly just a well told story. It didn't have any superficial layers. If you like ghosts and curses you'll love the way this story fans out. I think the author did a fabulous job and I can't wait to read her again!