Ruined by Paula Morris

Interesting thing, the copy of the book that I have doesn't say "a ghost story", instead it just says "a novel". I feel like this is more fitting because when I think of a ghost story, I think of something scary, but this was not scary. Which was okay because I wasn't really looking for a scary story when I picked this up. So if that is what you are going for here, guess again. I think that one of the most interesting parts about this book was hearing the main character's descriptions of things that I have seen in New Orleans. Granted it was a very long time ago, but hearing her discuss Lafayette Cemetery and the French Quarter brought back foggy memories. It even dug up memories of Mardi Gras beads and king's cake (I do miss that cake). It was also an interesting history lesson in a way, not all of it was true of course. If anything though really, it made me want to learn more about the area that I frequented when I was very little. This having been said, I was a little disappointed with this book. I feel like the only character that got any dimension to her was the ghost. I would have also really appreciated the love story developing up a little bit, but every time Anton comes up, Rebeca becomes distracted by the ghost. I almost got tired of hearing about her. I also feel like she didn't respond normally to the ghost. I know if I figured out I had met a ghost, I would probably stay away from her, but she decides to go back into the cemetery in the dead of night and find her again. Pure insanity. That is just me though. In the end, it was plenty entertaining and after it got going, it was a very quick read that kept you curious until the end. It also had a twist in the end that I enjoyed, even though I really should have seen it coming.

This book would be enjoyed by a fifth or sixth grade girl probably, maybe younger. It was very entertaining and its content was not elicit in any way as it can be when you get up into the teen books. I would recommend this book to students.