Ruined: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ Paula Morris (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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. And at the snooty prep school, the 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. There's just one catch: Lisette is a ghost.

 

A ghost with a deep, dark secret, and a serious score to settle.

 

As Rebecca learns more from her ghost friend -- and as she slowly learns to trust Anton Grey -- she also uncovers startling truths about her own history. Will Rebecca be able to right the wrongs of the past, or has everything been ruined beyond repair?


PRAISE FOR PAULA MORRIS'S NOVEL QUEEN OF BEAUTY:

"A stunning debut novel...a masterful work." -- The New Zealand Herald

About the Author

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

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Product Details Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Point (August 1, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0545042151 ISBN-13: 978-0545042154 Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 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 (89 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,033 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #45 in  Books > Children's Books > Literature > Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror > Spine-Chilling Horror #56 in  Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Love & Romance

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	44% buy the item featured on this page: Ruined: A Novel 4.1 out of 5 stars (89) $11.55
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Customer Reviews

89 Reviews 5 star:  (23) 4 star:  (52) 3 star:  (13) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.1 out of 5 stars (89 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A Gosh Darned Good Horror Story, September 11, 2009 By  Ken Douglas (The Coast) - See all my reviews (What's this?) Fifteen-year-old Rebecca Brown is down in the dumps as her plane is landing at Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans. Her father has accepted a long term job in China, so she has to leave her home with a view of Central Park in New York and go to live with strange Aunt Claudia, who isn't even really her aunt, and to make matters worse, she has to attend the prestigious Temple Mead Academy for girls and wear a uniform which consists of an ugly black blazer and a plaid skirt. Could things get any worse? They could. There is a rigid class system in New Orleans and at the school which she is not used to and wants no part of. She wants nothing to do with these snobbish rich kids. However, when she spies a group of them going into the cemetery across the street after dark, a place she has been told to avoid, she follows and sees that they are holding a clandestine meeting there. She makes a noise, is afraid of being discovered, runs away, gets lost and gets directions from a ghost. Yes, I said ghost. She's a black girl named Lisette and when Rebecca holds her hand, she is invisible. Lisette shows her the way out of the cemetery and eventually becomes her friend. There are many ghosts about in the city, especially in the French Quarter and when Rebecca is holding Lisette's hand, she can see them all. These are beings who have unfinished business or who died in circumstances that prevented them from moving on. Lisette is like them and when she tells Rebecca her story, Rebecca realizes that some of her classmates aren't exactly what they seem, but what she doesn't realize is how much danger she is in. I loved this story. Yes it was written for young adults, but a good horror story is a good horror story, and this is a gosh darned good one. I had no trouble at all identifying with Rebecca. I loved her gypsy like, voodoo woman Aunt Claudia and I loved the way the suspense builds and, of course, I adored the ghost Lisette. 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Ruined - A Ghost Story, August 26, 2009 By  K. Blodgett "Hawk" (Palm Bay, Florida USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)       (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. 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Creole, spice and murder, August 9, 2009 By  Jessie Potts "Book Taster" (Terre d'Ange) - See all my reviews    Ruined is a novel that masks itself as a ghost story when what it really is, is a story about old betrayals, old families and old curses. Rebecca is living in New York with her father when suddenly she is shipped off to her `aunt' Claudia in New Orleans (a voodoo/witch who keeps creepy monkey skulls in the guest room) practically another country and time period away. Her `incarceration' is to last six months, her father's in China on a business trip, and include enrollment at a new school complete with uniforms and snotty rich girls. But these girls aren't your typical snotty rich girls, they are aristocrats among worker bees, members of the `old families' who started New Orleans and are just oozing money and attitude. The worker bees (other Pleb kids) at school eye Rebecca warily not sure where she fits into their quaint Romanesque social class system, and Rebecca frankly could really care less. All she want to do is deal with this lapse in her father's judgment for six months then go back to her and her father's apartment and of course all of her non snotty friends and non uniformed co-ed school. Unfortunately curiosity gets the better of her one night; she follows `Them' (rich snotty kids) in to a cemetery and ends up bumping in to a ghost. Ah, here is where the ghost part of the story comes in. The ghost's name is Lisette and both she and Rebecca realize that they are entangled far deeper than either realize. You see children old towns filled with old families tend to have a lot of history behind them, and not all of the history is good, some in fact is quite devious. Rebecca ends up falling head first into `Their' lives and all that messiness that entails. Quite a good read I say. Soooo, I would definitely recommend this, maybe wait until it comes out in paperback if you don't want to pay the $17, but a great read rich in New Orleans culture and spice.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars A good ghost story with a mystery I actually enjoyed this book a lot. Ruined is about a girl named Rebecca Brown who must move to New Orleans while her father is doing business in China. Read more Published 1 day ago by Rebekah Montgomery 4.0 out of 5 stars It's worth your time to read Let me begin by saying I do not go over the story line as you can read that in the synopsis. I am just here to give my opinion of the book. Read more Published 1 day ago by Chai on Life 4.0 out of 5 stars New Orleans Ghost Story This YA novel is not my usual fare although I have always loved ghost stories. But I loved this book from the start. Read more Published 6 days ago by Rebecca Cox 4.0 out of 5 stars A Ghostly Good Time Rebecca's father is going to China on business and instead of leaving his daughter in New York City by herself he ships her down to her aunt's house in New Orleans. Read more Published 8 days ago by YA Librarian 4.0 out of 5 stars Ruined Like the main character, Rebecca, I knew very little about New Orleans before Katrina. What I did know came from sources like movies, novels, comic books and random historical... Read more Published 9 days ago by Alexandra Cenni 5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful tale of secrets, curses, and ghosts Paula Morris has introduced us to Rebecca, a mondern teenager who lives in New York city. She loves her life in New York with her dad (her mom died when she was a young child)... Read more Published 11 days ago by Maureen Mielcarek 4.0 out of 5 stars A Fun and Mild Ghost Story Ruined: A Novel is a ghost story, set in New Orleans, about Rebecca - a girl who has to stay with her father's friend while he is in China for a few months. Read more Published 12 days ago by Jessica Allison 4.0 out of 5 stars A good ghost story Rebecca Brown is a fifteen year-old girl, living in NYC, who is suddenly shipped off by her father to stay with her Aunt Claudia in New Orleans, while he is off to work in China... Read more Published 14 days ago by bookmagic 4.0 out of 5 stars A good read This book's cover is what attracted me to read the book. And I ended up pleasantly suprised that it held my attention (even though the actual ghost isn't described like the ghost... Read more Published 16 days ago by Lynae Sidwell 5.0 out of 5 stars The Dark Secret of Lafayette Cemetery Sixteen-year-old Rebecca Brown experiences a culture shock when she moves from Manhattan to New Orleans. Read more Published 17 days ago by J. B. Hoyos Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Point (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545042151
• ISBN-13: 978-0545042154
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 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 (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,033 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #45 in	Books > Children's Books > Literature > Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror > Spine-Chilling Horror
  #56 in	Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Love & Romance

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gosh Darned Good Horror Story, September 11, 2009

By	Ken Douglas (The Coast) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

Fifteen-year-old Rebecca Brown is down in the dumps as her plane is landing at Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans. Her father has accepted a long term job in China, so she has to leave her home with a view of Central Park in New York and go to live with strange Aunt Claudia, who isn't even really her aunt, and to make matters worse, she has to attend the prestigious Temple Mead Academy for girls and wear a uniform which consists of an ugly black blazer and a plaid skirt.

Could things get any worse? They could. There is a rigid class system in New Orleans and at the school which she is not used to and wants no part of. She wants nothing to do with these snobbish rich kids. However, when she spies a group of them going into the cemetery across the street after dark, a place she has been told to avoid, she follows and sees that they are holding a clandestine meeting there. She makes a noise, is afraid of being discovered, runs away, gets lost and gets directions from a ghost.

Yes, I said ghost. She's a black girl named Lisette and when Rebecca holds her hand, she is invisible. Lisette shows her the way out of the cemetery and eventually becomes her friend. There are many ghosts about in the city, especially in the French Quarter and when Rebecca is holding Lisette's hand, she can see them all. These are beings who have unfinished business or who died in circumstances that prevented them from moving on. Lisette is like them and when she tells Rebecca her story, Rebecca realizes that some of her classmates aren't exactly what they seem, but what she doesn't realize is how much danger she is in.

I loved this story. Yes it was written for young adults, but a good horror story is a good horror story, and this is a gosh darned good one. I had no trouble at all identifying with Rebecca. I loved her gypsy like, voodoo woman Aunt Claudia and I loved the way the suspense builds and, of course, I adored the ghost Lisette.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	K. Blodgett "Hawk" (Palm Bay, Florida USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(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.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creole, spice and murder, August 9, 2009

By	Jessie Potts "Book Taster" (Terre d'Ange) - See all my reviews

Ruined is a novel that masks itself as a ghost story when what it really is, is a story about old betrayals, old families and old curses.

Rebecca is living in New York with her father when suddenly she is shipped off to her `aunt' Claudia in New Orleans (a voodoo/witch who keeps creepy monkey skulls in the guest room) practically another country and time period away. Her `incarceration' is to last six months, her father's in China on a business trip, and include enrollment at a new school complete with uniforms and snotty rich girls. But these girls aren't your typical snotty rich girls, they are aristocrats among worker bees, members of the `old families' who started New Orleans and are just oozing money and attitude.

The worker bees (other Pleb kids) at school eye Rebecca warily not sure where she fits into their quaint Romanesque social class system, and Rebecca frankly could really care less. All she want to do is deal with this lapse in her father's judgment for six months then go back to her and her father's apartment and of course all of her non snotty friends and non uniformed co-ed school. Unfortunately curiosity gets the better of her one night; she follows `Them' (rich snotty kids) in to a cemetery and ends up bumping in to a ghost. Ah, here is where the ghost part of the story comes in. The ghost's name is Lisette and both she and Rebecca realize that they are entangled far deeper than either realize.

You see children old towns filled with old families tend to have a lot of history behind them, and not all of the history is good, some in fact is quite devious. Rebecca ends up falling head first into `Their' lives and all that messiness that entails. Quite a good read I say.

Soooo, I would definitely recommend this, maybe wait until it comes out in paperback if you don't want to pay the $17, but a great read rich in New Orleans culture and spice.