Ruined: A Ghost Story by Paula Morris

Publishers Weekly

With this haunting love letter to New Orleans, Morris makes her YA debut, telling the story of 15-year-old Rebecca Brown, a proud New Yorker sent to live with a family friend while her father travels overseas. Ostracized as an outsider, Rebecca struggles to fit in and cope with her new surroundings. When she befriends Lisette, a ghost who has haunted the cemetery ever since her mysterious death 155 years earlier, Rebecca is drawn into an eerie story of betrayal, loss, old curses and family secrets. As Mardi Gras approaches, so does the culmination of something dark and angry that has been brewing for decades. This moody tale thoroughly embraces the rich history, occult lore and complex issues of race, ethnicity, class and culture that have defined New Orleans for centuries, turning the city into a character in its own right. Rather than shy away from the shameful or tragic moments of the past, Morris uses them to capture the city's essence. From Mardi Gras rituals to voodoo spells, Hurricane Katrina to jazz, this is a story that could only be told in New Orleans. Ages 12–up. (Aug.)

School Library Journal

Gr 7–10—Rebecca Brown is miserable about spending six months in New Orleans with her wacky Aunt Claudia while her father goes to China on business. A New York girl through and through, the 16-year-old must attend a stuck-up private school where she is an outsider without a prestigious family. She makes her only friend in the cemetery across the road. Rebecca soon realizes that nobody else can see or hear Lisette and comes to learn that her new companion is actually the ghost of a girl who died during the 1853 yellow fever outbreak. Rebecca's situation worsens after she begins to date rich and popular Anton Grey and becomes entangled in a centuries-old curse on one of the oldest and most powerful families in the neighborhood. A hair-raising parade-float ride during Mardi Gras ends with Rebecca's life on the line. While Morris infuses her tale with interesting facts about a historically rich city, her awkward writing style detracts from the story. Character reactions are unrealistic, particularly Rebecca's casual acceptance of a ghost, but at its best, Ruined offers a fascinating account of Mardi Gras festivities and has a chilling conclusion.—Tara Kehoe, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ

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