I have a comfort author.
Whenever something isn't quite right I go and revisit my favorite books by Sharon Creech (namely 'Ruby Holler', 'Replay', and 'Bloomability.')
This January has been a tough month for me and so I pulled out Ruby Holler and re-read its careworn pages.
This was the first Sharon Creech book I ever read years and years ago. It it definitely the one of the best, in my opinion. I decided it needed a review.
Title: Ruby Holler.
Author: Sharon Creech.
Synopsis: Dallas and Florida are Trouble Twins. Thirteen years ago they arrived as infants on the steps of the Boxton Creek Home for Children and have been there virtually ever since. Sure, they've been taken in by many families - the Cranbeps, the Creepy Dreeps, the Burgertons.... but the metaphorical revolving door keeps sweeping them back into the Home.
Tiller and Sairy are an elderly couple living in their cabin in Ruby Holler, a beautiful wilderness. They are planning trips, but aren't going together. Tiller is going to sail down the Rutabego River, and Sairy is going to Kangadoon to find the Red Tailed Rockingbird.
They go to the Boxton Creek Home in search of companions. They decide to take Dallas and Florida on their trips with them.
But Dallas and Florida have other plans. They have never known love, not from the families they were placed with, and not from the Trepids, the couple running the Home. Dallas and Florida want to run away, catch the night train. Will they actually do it? Or will they accompany Tiller and Sairy on their trips?
My rating: 9/10 stars.
Why I liked the story: I can't really explain it. It's just one of those stories that makes its way into your heart and won't leave. It's well-written and the characters are such... characters. As Tiller says, "I will try to become Mr. Personality." From Tiller and Sairy, the old couple in love that everyone wants to become, to Z, the mysterious man working for Mr. Trepid.
Dallas and Florida will break your heart, because they've never been loved and can't recognize love when it's finally shown to them. They really change throughout the book, though - great character development. They go from mistrusting all grown-ups, to finding a family.
It's a very warm story full of fun characters and the hilarious things they do.
Why I disliked the story/what you should know: Hmmm... nothing really. Sometimes Sharon Creech skips ahead or goes back in time to explain something, leaving the reader going 'huh?' until she explains it.
Also, for those who are really sensative about crude words... Florida says 'putrid' and 'crud' a lot.
Have I read it before? Yes.
Will I read it again? Yes!
Would I recommend it? Yes!
Live long and prosper!
P.S. I forgot to mention this the other day... Thank you all so much for all the ideas for the second half of the Defenders of the Realm Prologue! I'm still not sure what to do, but you gave me some really good ideas - stuff I wouldn't have thought of. Thanks!
Also, the title of this post is a quote from the book.
No comments:
Post a Comment