Ruby Holler
Front cover of first edition
|
|
| Author | Sharon Creech |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel, magic realism |
| Publisher |
HarperCollins (Joanna Cotler Books) |
|
Publication date
|
26 March 2002 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 310 pp (first edition) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 45487314 |
| LC Class | PZ7.C8615 Ru 2002 |
Ruby Holler (2002) is a low fantasy novel for children by the American writer Sharon Creech, published by HarperCollins in 2002. It features adolescent orphan twins who are "trouble" and an eccentric older couple who adopt them and take them back to live in "magical" Ruby Holler (hollow).
Creech won the annual Carnegie Medal from the British librarians, recognizing the year's best children's book published in the U.K. (Bloomsbury Children's Books). In a retrospective citation, the librarians call it "a beautifully written story about love and trust and how the strength and goodness of human beings can overcome all the odds". Creech was the first American winner of the British award and the first person to win both the American Newbery Medal (Walk Two Moons, 1994) and the British Carnegie.
The story starts in the Boxton Creek Home, an 'orphanage' run by a strict couple, the Trepids. A thirteen-year-old boy named Dallas, who is an imaginative young teenager, and his twin sister Florida, a sassy and bold girl, have been living for a long time in the Home, and they have been punished many times for breaking of the rules that the Trepids post all over the House. They have been adopted many times and then returned for various reasons, often by fault of the adopters. Because of this, they have been named the "trouble twins." They have a plan to run away and board a train.
Outside of Boxton, in a plot of land called Ruby Holler, Tiller and Sairy Morey, a very old couple whose children have grown up and left, are sitting and discussing about their plain lives, that they want a new adventure. The two decide to foster care for children, and they adopt Dallas and Florida. Although Sairy, a very kind and trusting old lady, is very excited about the idea, Tiller, a "crotchety old boot", is doubtful of the kids in Ruby Holler. Even though the twins enjoy the freedom and adventure in the holler, they're still suspicious and think that Tiller and Sairy will mistreat them like others before, although their suspicions are soon proven false. Tiller and Sairy tell Dallas and Florida that they are planning on each going on separate trips, and they want the twins to come on each: Dallas with Sairy onto an island, and Florida with Tiller on a rafting trip. All of them are uneasy about leaving their partner, but they don't reveal it. Tiller and Sairy use their "understone funds," underground savings that they've kept for years, for the trips.
...
Wikipedia