Ruby's Imagine

A moving story of what it was like to survive Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. I loved the way Antieau made Ruby talk, in a dialect all her own. The novel is peopled with unique characters, and it's sad to think of that wonderful neighborhood community destroyed by the hurricane. The ending is a surprise, and goes to show that appearances may not be revealing the whole truth. Highly recommended!

I only read a few pages of this book and was annoyed. It uses a very southern tone and maybe it's because I'm a northerner, I'm not sure, but I found this to be the reason I had to put down this book.

i could not get into this book

"A butterfly the color of my name did tell me that a Big Spin was coming our way"(Antieau 1). This is how the book begins. A very interesting I thought maybe this was a quote maybe I thought the character was maybe 6 or 7, which this would have been fine. But I discovered that she is 17, this bothered me even more. I guess I don't want to have to work so hard to understand what is being said ad was sad she could not talk in a right context. I suppose want it to be said properly and not have to t [...]

Antieau, Kim. 2008. Ruby's Imagine. September 2008 release.First sentence: A Butterfly the color of my name did tell me that a Big Spin was coming our way.Ruby, our narrator, is a teen girl with a unique way of seeing the world, a unique way of talking. Let's just say--long story short--that she likes Capital Letters. (I can imagine that this will irritate some readers.) Her own way of speaking does set her apart from others in her New Orleans community, and it irritates the dickens out of the w [...]

Reviewed by JodiG. for TeensReadTooThere is a big storm coming. A "Big Spin," as Ruby calls it. Ruby knows the storm is coming because Ruby Butterfly told her, and the Big Oaks told Ruby Butterfly. So it must be true. But, should Ruby tell anyone else? Her grandmother, Mammaloose, says that Ruby just makes things up. Mammaloose probably wouldn't believe her. She would just say it's one more thing from Ruby's imagine. Kind of like Ruby's memories of her sisters and living in the swamp. Just Ruby' [...]

Ruby is a happy,cheeky girl. She lives in her small town in Louisiana with her (somewhat) grandma and uncle. She's always talking to the animals and plants, her friends. Ruby's life is almost alright just until a huge storm crashes through Ruby's petite town, destroying everything. But who would've known that this big wind could be the one thing to reveal family secrets, and Ruby's true love for Jay-El.I feel I have a connection to the main character in t Ruby's Imagine, Ruby. First of all, Ruby [...]

"I never heard nothing so loud as this storm. And it was so dark and loud and I was shivering inside because I never in my life felt as alone as I did that moment, like nothing else existed anywhere but this whirlwind of sound and it wasn't nothing personal but I was gonna be sucked away and be a part of the noise and the wet darkness forever."Ruby lives in New Orleans with her grandmother and the ruby butterfly told her that the coming storm is going to be a bad one. The Big Spin is coming and [...]

I still can't figure this book out altogether. The outside story is quite easy to grasp--one girl's perspective on Hurricane Katrina and the devastation and abuse of the poor that goes on in the aftermath--but Ruby's personal story is a little harder to puzzle out. She is portrayed as having a special connection with nature, getting information from birds and butterflies. She's passionate about conservation, but in a quiet, understated way rather than the usual sign-toting fare we're treated to. [...]

Ruby, a seventeen-year-old girl in New Orleans, has a close relationship with the living things in the world around her; the trees and birds all tell her their secrets. One day a bird tells her that a hurricane is coming, a hurricane that ends up being Hurricane Katrina.I hated the first half of this book, and the only reason I'm giving it two stars is because I actually found the second half, after the hurricane arrives, to be very good. While the first half does establish the characters and th [...]

This is a delight tale of Ruby who sees the world in a wonderful, magical way. Despite the continual negativity directed toward her by her grandmother, Ruby thrives. Without triteness or corniness, the author weaves a beautiful story of Ruby who makes wonderment for all. When Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, LA, and the leeves break, Ruby and her grandmother are able to climb to the attic. As the roof is blown away, they witness the incredible devastation.In grand denial, Ruby's grandmother r [...]

It took a little getting used to, as Ruby's speech patterns were, um, different. It seems that she is very bright, but the fact that she has limited social and emotional interactions with her family has stunted her somewhat. Even her friend, JayEl, notices when she speaks more like everyone else. It is a beautiful story, a wonderful tribute to those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Ruby, a teenager with a vivid imagination, has grown up with her grandmother who has told her all her life that her parents were dead and she was an only child. When Hurricane Katrina hits Louisiana. Ruby learns the truth about her background and her grandmother and finds a way to move forward past the destruction.

Ruby is a unique character. I love the magical way she describes everything and everyone around her. Trees are "Rooted People", birds are "Flying People", and her garden is "The Place Where My Vegetables Grow. As she and her family experience the awful events of Hurricane Katrina, her positive outlook helps them cope and survive. A great book!

Sucked me in and I read the whole thing in one afternoon. It is a short book but it still gripped me and didn't let go until I finished. The story line was a bit dues ex machina. Liked the characters and liked hearing about Katrina from point of view of survivors and why some of them stayed.

If you can get past the specific dialect it is written in, it is definetly worth the read. About a girl, Ruby, who is very in touch with nature. She lives through Hurricane Katrina in what I assume is the 9th ward in New Orleans. Not actually a true story, but certainly realistic.

I just couldn't connect at all with Ruby's character.

Hard book to get into at first but it does come alive.

Interesting take on Katrina.

I'm in a quandry about rating this book and writing about it. It's really uneven in language and tone, but the overall "feel" of it is so life-affirming I hope it gets read by a wide audience.

Hurricane Katrinad an interesting main character/narrator.

It is a kittle hard to follow so-far, but I like the characters.

pretty cool :D

I stayed up until the wee hours to finish this book. Just couldn't put it down. It was written to honor the Katrina victims and I think it did a good job of it.

I'm sending this to all of my women friends. The story of a beautiful spirit thrust into the worst of circumstances. Oh! and the language is beautiful.

Very well good to be excat at first couldn't quite understand what I was reading but half way through I realized what it was about and have to say not bad I like it.

read as a proof copy--picked it up at ALAry good book, recommended