Monday, September 28, 2009

Ruined: A Ghost Story by Paula Morris + GIVEAWAY (CLOSED)


When Rebecca Brown goes to New Orleans to stay with her voodoo-obsessed aunt, she finds the beautiful city haunted by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Rebecca is also startled to discover a haunting of a different kind: near a graveyard one night, amid the Spanish moss and beneath the moonlight, she meets a ghost girl named Lisette, who has been dead for 150 years. Lisette helps Rebecca unearth an ancient mystery in her aunt’s house, along with some troubling historical truths. Meanwhile, Rebecca must juggle adjusting to her snooty new prep school, developing a serious crush on a handsome boy, and dealing with an elite group of popular girls who may be linked to the ghostly mystery themselves. - from book jacket

******
Ruined is a great book. I can’t remember the last I actually loved, no wait....LOVED this book!! Why did I enjoy it so much? First all it takes place in New Orleans. I’ve “heard” of New Orleans for as long as I can remember. To me it’s a place of mystery, history, and dark secrets. New Orleans is the capitol of authentic vood-doo (besides Haiti), grave-yards, and parties. What could be more forbidden and dark? Remember The Ghost of Blackwood Hall (Nancy Drew)? Spooky.
New Orleans been “ruined” several times in the past and since Madri-Gra is held there every year, some say it’s the evilest city in the Americas since the days of Port Royal.* [Arrr, ahoy there mateys!]
Second of all, this book is a “ghost story”. I mean, who could resist, right?

The characters of Ruined are just as mysterious and exciting as the story itself. Rebecca is a great character and reminded me of myself. Okay so, maybe I wouldn’t go snooping around in the cemetery at night, but hey, I love adventure.
The “old-line” or elite families of New Orleans is another mysterious addition to the book. I don’t doubt at all that there is a really are clicks like these in New Orleans or even the “krewes” who participate in the Madi-Gra parades. On top of the all neat characters and ghosts of New Orleans, there’s a curse. Feel the excitement yet?
The only thing I am unhappy with about Ruined is that it ended way too fast! I wanted to know what happened to Rebecca after-oops, can’t say. You get the picture though.
Overall, Ruined is a breathtaking story of a wronged murder in the dark, magical city of New Orleans. I highly recommend to any teen looking for adventure with a dash of romance and, of course, ghosts. Just one question. When Morris’s next book out?!

* Port Royal was a city located on Jamaica. It was a popular hang-out with pirates and served as a major trading and slave port for the British Empire. In 1692, shortly after Henry Morgan’s reign as governor, Port Royal was destroyed by a huge hurricane/storm and was never re-built.

Paula Morris is orginally from New Zealand and has lived in various different cities around the world, including New Orleans. She teaches creative writing at Tulane University in New Orleans. Paula has written several YA novels and short stories; Queen of Beauty was her first novel.

|Pages: 315|Year Published: Aug. 2009|Publisher: Point|
|Genre: Ghost story, suspense, mystery, teen romance|
|Age Group: YA, ages 12+|Content: None|

|Enjoyed It: 5/5|Content Rating: 5/5|Cover: 5/5| (NEW!)
|Overall Rating|
Special thanks to Dina at Point with Big Honcho Media!



Contest for Ruined

Not sure about Ruined ? Don't take my word for it, read it yourself! Here's your chance to win a copy of Ruined!

The What - 5 copies of Ruined
The Who - US residents ONLY
The When - Ends October 12th, 12pm EST.
The How - Since Ruined takes place in the famous city of New Orleans, to enter, leave a comment telling me about what your hometown is "famous" for.

Extra Entries - +2) if you start following
+1) post about this contest elsewhere (leave link for proof)
+2) add me to your blogroll




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26 comments:

Kelsey said...

Great contest! My town is famous for a train that went through it 100s of years ago. (okay not that cool, but it's something, right?)

+2 follower
+2 added you to my blog roll

Kelsey
kelseythebookscout at gmail dot com

~The Book Pixie said...

Um....let's see....oh yeah we are famous for our kaolin mines. Oh and the actress Diane Lane's mom lives in the county.

+2 follower
+2 on my blogroll

~Briana
thebookpixie[at]yahoo[dot]com

RPL said...

My town is famous for the river and lake. Tourists come in and ask about it and are amazed by it.

+2 Follower
+2 added you to my blog roll

Roxie
Rociomoreno@ruidoso-nm.gov

Katie said...

My town is famous because it used to be a river port.
I'm a follower.
katiesbookshelf@ymail.com

Jenna said...

Portland, Oregon is the the most environmentally friendly city in the United States. It's completely true too, I knew what Recycling was before I was taught how to read.

+2 I'm a follower.

Jenna
jennapomme@yahoo.com

(: Isa :) said...

I don't even remember my home town. It was in LA county. Well my adopted town is famous for its super delish Molasses made from goat milk. \

+2 following.

Great contest!

greenc70@gmail.com

mrsshukra said...

My hometown is famous for beaches!

+2 Follower!


delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

Kristen said...

Would love to win a copy of this! Hm my hometown is kinda small. . . so the only thing I really know is it's one of the oldest and was named for a guy named Gray who lived close to my house in the woods and often was seen by the lake. So the town is called Grayslake. :)

+2 I'm a follower!

bittahsweetharmony@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

My town is famous for book banning!!!
Thanks for the giveaway!
sentas_cry516@hotmail.com

Denise said...

My hometown Waco, TX is famous for:

*Being the city in which Dr. Pepper was first invented.
*Is home to the first bridge to cross the Brazos River, the Waco Suspension Bridge.
*Used to be the cotton capital of Texas
*On May 12th 1953, one of the top ten deadliest tornadoes made it's way through this town.
*It is home to the oldest college in the state of Texas (Baylor University).

+2 I'm a follower

+1 Contest is advertised in these places:

http://www.shelfari.com/groups/26512/discussions/145838/Contest

http://www.shelfari.com/groups/31178/discussions/145837/Contest

http://www.shelfari.com/groups/39985/discussions/145836/Contest

http://www.shelfari.com/groups/37185/discussions/145835/Contest

My e-mail: tildaloo@yahoo.com

Thanks!

holdenj said...

I grew up in Dallas, TX and sadly, it was famous for being the site of the Kennedy Assassination. We always had to drive visitors down that same road whenever they came to visit.
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

Staysi said...

Awesome contest!

+2 Follower
+1 Post about this contest
+2 Added to my blogroll

My hometown is famous for Christmas because it's called "Bethlehem" so it's "The Christmas City" :)

-Staysi
staysil7 [at] yahoo [dot] com.

http://lostininkreviews.blogspot.com/

Anna Moore said...

+2 following :)
+1 Linked in Sidebar: http://booknerds.net

booknerdsnet@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Looks like a good book, please enter me into this drawing.

My home town is the "famous" home to the most polluted body of water in North America, yay Onondaga Lake.

+2 I'm a new follower via Blogger.

Thanks for hosting this giveaway.
jake.lsewhere[at]gmail.com

Mandy said...

I like in a small city that has gas stations, a walgreens, a winn-dixie, and a few local owned stores and most of the city is taken up by a golf club/community. So were aren't "famous" for anything. =)

I follow and tweeted:
http://twitter.com/MandyCanRead/statuses/4607418913

bratdownstairs@yahoo.com

Jordan Perryman said...

This will be like the millionth time I have tried to win this book! It looks so amazing and I really want to read it!

+2 follower
+1 posted in sidebar
http://insidethemindjm.blogspot.com
+2 added you to my blogroll

lovely1117 said...

1. Following you now.
2. Added you to my blogroll.
3. Hmm, my hometown is famous for their ghost stories? xD

lovely1117 said...

Oh, I forgot to add my email!

kakari89 @ hotmail . com

Helen's Book Blog said...

My hometown is famous for being a getaway for LA stars who want to "live a normal life" .
+2 follower

Great site!

April (BooksandWine) said...

For some odd reason I thought I had entered already, guess not!

My home town is famous for inventing Pepto Bismol!

+2 follower
+2 tweeted the contest http://twitter.com/booksandwine/status/4790198348
+2 added you to my blog roll which shows the 20 most recently updated blogs - http://readingisthespiceoflife.blogspot.com

goodbooksandgoodwine[@]gmail.com

A Bookshelf Monstrosity said...

My home town is famous for being the home of the world's largest cedar bucket.

Thanks for the giveaway!

+2 Follower
+2 tweeted: http://twitter.com/bookmonstrosity/status/4795001000
+2 on my blogroll (shows recently updated blogs)

fitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com

Amanda said...

haha, well, that's an easy question. I live in San Antonio, which is famous for many things, probably most famous for the Alamo.

amandagignac[at]gmail[dot]com

(sorry if this goes through twice...)

Sara said...

I live in Kalamazoo, MI which is famous because it is in a song called "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo!"
Here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFv_PoZ2iP0
Pretty awesome song!

+2 following
+1 linked to sidebar @ http://thehidingspot.blogpspot.com

Thanks!
grochowskis@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

My hometown is famous for being the starting place of Coke, among other things.

+2 I'm following you
+2 Adding you on my blogroll (on the navbar under "other sites")

Just_Blinded_Book_Reviews@yahoo.com

Haley said...

My hometown of Webster, MA is famous for Lake Chargoggagogoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, or as most call it, Webster Lake. It's from the Nipmuc language and I can't pronounce it but my dad can. Haha.

+2 following.

crazycoolbeps@yahoo.com

M.A.D. said...

Mary D
zenrei57 (at) hotmail (dot) com

Ruined looks sooo good, love that cover!!!
Well, my hometown is famous for it's bathing beach (New Smyrna Beach, Fla)... :) And believe me, it is ten kinds of beautiful!

+2 following

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