Ruined (Ruined)

by Paula Morris

[Angie]

Ruined is a very atmospheric and interesting story about ghosts, curses, and the history of New Orleans. Rebecca has just moved in with her aunt, after her father has to travel to China on business. New Orleans couldn't be anymore different than New York, but Rebecca just has to get through the next six months. That might be easier said than done, since she's viewed as an outsider, as she has no direct ties to the old families of the city. Plus, the only friend she has turns out to be a ghost linked to a cursed on the city's most prominent family. How come Rebecca can see Lisette when no one else can? And what happened 155 years ago that keeps the teenage ghost wandering the cemetery?

While Ruined does have a pretty engaging plot involving curses and cover ups, I was more interested in the setting. New Orleans is a fascinating city and we get to see a lot of it as Rebecca explores her new home. It's three years after Hurricane Katrina, so there are still places that need to be rebuilt, but where she's currently living was relatively unharmed. There's also a lot of history, mainly about the balls and parades that dominate the weeks surrounding Mardi Gras. But also about the different immigrants who congregated in this diverse city. I just loved learning all about this! It held my interest much more than the actual plot.

Ruined's plot is a bit predictable. Not much happens at the beginning, as there's just a lot of talk about the city itself and Lisette's history. When more about the curse finally started coming out, I was very interested, but I also guessed part of the twist. There's a lot more to it than I was able to piece together, since there are so many family secrets, and many things have been covered up and twisted over the years. The ending also wasn't surprising, since the curse does play itself out. I like curse/prophecy plots, but often times they do wind up being predictable. That's okay though, since I still enjoyed it.

Ruined was a pretty good ghost story. The setting was definitely the strongest part, since New Orleans is complicated place with lots of history.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.