Name: Ruined
ISBN: 9780545042154

Paula Morris

Rebecca goes to New Orleans to stay with her aunt and sees the destruction of Hurricane Katrina and meets a ghost girl named Lisette.

a novel

Ruined

Hannah Yang

Ruined's story is just so captivating, and although the writing style could be better (more showing instead of just telling) the whole plot was so creeptastically wonderful. At first I was a little scared- introducing ghosts and murder stories- but it's really a compelling story. I was surprised that I didn't see it coming. (view spoiler)[Of course Rebecca is a Bowman. (hide spoiler)]

The story is about a girl / ghost, Lisette's death, and how she avenges it. Rebecca has just moved to New Orleans, and she hates it. Not to mention, she's found herself caught between the rich, popular Helena, and rich, popular Anton. Plus, she's accidentally befriended a ghost, Lisette. When her aunt tells her the truth about her past, Rebecca is torn between her friendship with Lisette, her pity for Helena, and her own life. Ruined was filled with drama and surprises at every turn, and I loved it!

I particularly liked Lisette's story, and seeing it from different angles made my perspective change a lot. Lisette was a super sweet character, too. At first, she was a mysterious person, then she became Rebecca's best friend, then she seems to be a traitor, then she's amazing again. From Rebecca's point of view, readers can see how Lisette's character seems to be changing based on the events that are happening, when she's really just the same sweet girl. 

The characters were all well done. 
I personally liked Toby Sutton's character. He's like a badass rich kid, but he's permanently loyal to the old-line families and Helena. 
Marianne, on the other hand, was pretty eh for me. She was Helena's friend, then when Helena got sick, she was Rebecca's friend... I don't even know. 
But Helena was basically the perfect character. Her descriptions, actions, parts and dialogues were absolutely flawless and matched her character wonderfully. 
Anton sucked. While his existence created more distance and rivalry between Helena and Rebecca, it felt kind of pointless for me. He's on-and-offy and his personality was bland. His whole character paled in comparison to the rest of the book.

Pick this book up! Ruined was a great read.

Allison Garrett

Tanner Evans

This novel is amazing. Not only does it have a unique plot, but the magic and voodoo aspect of the novel is stunning; it definitely makes me want to read more ghost stories. I didn't know what was going to happen until I read it, and I'm usually pretty good at figuring these things out. Everything about this novel was great: characters, setting, plot, etc. I'll be recommending this to everyone. (:

Ruined a novel