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Ruth de Lune
Ruth de Lune: A Novella is no longer available for download or purchase.
ebook
First published August 8, 2012
124 people want to read
About the author
Andy Davidson
4 books655 followersAndy Davidson is the Bram Stoker Award nominated author of In the Valley of the Sun and The Boatman's Daughter. The Boatman’s Daughter was listed among NPR's Best Books of 2020, the New York Public Library's Best Adult Books of the Year, and Library Journal's Best Horror of 2020. Born and raised in Arkansas, Andy makes his home in Georgia with his wife and a bunch of cats.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 28, 2013
It's been a while since I've read a werewolf story. This book is filled with great prose. I only wish that the story was fleshed out more.
September 18, 2012
Remember when vampires used to be the bad guys? Witches would sacrifice animals and worship pagan gods? Werewolves would terrorize towns and kill women and children? I know I do. I grew up on movies like, Silver Bullet and Pet Cemetery and Fright Night. The one thing that these movies have in common? The supernatural and we KNOW who the bad guys are. There was a time when these sups were feared and respected in their own right. Andy Davidson, gives us back the classic story of werewolves in his first novel, Ruth de Lune.
Ruth Walker has every reason to hate her life. She is short and fat. She has terrible acne and exactly one friend. The "it" girls at her school make her life a living hell. She naturally is in love with her best friend, Eric, and he only sees her as a "friend". It appears that the universe is working against Ruth in every way.
On the night Eric somehow convinced Ruth to go to the homecoming dance, everything changed for Ruth. When she saw Eric dancing with that dumb blond girl, Lauren, who has been so evil to her for years, Ruth had to get out of the school before she made a spectacle of herself. Patrick, a boy who has been trying to date Ruth, followed her out of the dance to check on her. It was while he was trying one last time with Ruth that the $hi# hits the fan, or I should say, the body parts hits the trees. Patrick is taken right in front of Ruth's eyes and snatched up into the forest. With the terrible scream from Patrick's mouth echoing in her ears.
Ruth runs for her life and makes it to the train tracks before she is attacked by the largest dog that she has ever seen. The scariest thing? The "dog" walks on two legs and kind of looks like a person too. The only thing that saved her from loosing her arm and her life is the rail road spike she jammed into the the creatures ear.
Ruth survived the attack but Patrick was not so lucky. His body was found in pieces all over the forest. Now Ruth is the freak show at school even more than she already was. And, she feels different. Her wound is healing at a rapid rate and she is having the strangest dreams. There is another voice in her head. She feels wild things calling to her and quickly figures out that it was no ordinary dog that attacked her. She is turning into a werewolf.
The full moon approaches.
There is no love triangle in this book. No werewolf who isn't like the others of their kind and values all life. This book is a story about a girl becoming a monster and the path she is one while it happens.
I think that with all of the PNR that I read, it was good for me to read a horror novel like this. There was actually a part in the book where Ruth says, "I'd like to tell you I broke away and ran alone into the woods that morning. It was true that I didn't want him to come. I was afraid I might hurt him badly, even kill him, if things panned out the way I suspected they might." It was at this moment where I had that "oh crap" moment where I realized that this was no ordinary YA lovey dovey book. This was a full on werewolf horror novel and NO ONE was going to have a kiss and make up moment.
Once I allowed myself to accept that this was not my usual PNR, I really embraced the horror like it should be. Andy Davidson does wonderful justice to the horror genre and brings werewolves back, old-school style. Read this book and remember where all of the paranormal came from and what it is about. Ruth is a character that I believe will speak powerfully to many people and especially young girls. The way Davidson writes werewolves is flawless, I felt like I was right there in the room while the transformation was happening. This is a Must Read Indeed!
Happy Reading,
Fearing the Full Moon once again,
Lisa :)
For more of my reviews check me out at http://teaandbook-shauni.blogspot.com/ and
http://bodicerippers-shauni.blogspot....
Ruth Walker has every reason to hate her life. She is short and fat. She has terrible acne and exactly one friend. The "it" girls at her school make her life a living hell. She naturally is in love with her best friend, Eric, and he only sees her as a "friend". It appears that the universe is working against Ruth in every way.
On the night Eric somehow convinced Ruth to go to the homecoming dance, everything changed for Ruth. When she saw Eric dancing with that dumb blond girl, Lauren, who has been so evil to her for years, Ruth had to get out of the school before she made a spectacle of herself. Patrick, a boy who has been trying to date Ruth, followed her out of the dance to check on her. It was while he was trying one last time with Ruth that the $hi# hits the fan, or I should say, the body parts hits the trees. Patrick is taken right in front of Ruth's eyes and snatched up into the forest. With the terrible scream from Patrick's mouth echoing in her ears.
Ruth runs for her life and makes it to the train tracks before she is attacked by the largest dog that she has ever seen. The scariest thing? The "dog" walks on two legs and kind of looks like a person too. The only thing that saved her from loosing her arm and her life is the rail road spike she jammed into the the creatures ear.
Ruth survived the attack but Patrick was not so lucky. His body was found in pieces all over the forest. Now Ruth is the freak show at school even more than she already was. And, she feels different. Her wound is healing at a rapid rate and she is having the strangest dreams. There is another voice in her head. She feels wild things calling to her and quickly figures out that it was no ordinary dog that attacked her. She is turning into a werewolf.
The full moon approaches.
There is no love triangle in this book. No werewolf who isn't like the others of their kind and values all life. This book is a story about a girl becoming a monster and the path she is one while it happens.
I think that with all of the PNR that I read, it was good for me to read a horror novel like this. There was actually a part in the book where Ruth says, "I'd like to tell you I broke away and ran alone into the woods that morning. It was true that I didn't want him to come. I was afraid I might hurt him badly, even kill him, if things panned out the way I suspected they might." It was at this moment where I had that "oh crap" moment where I realized that this was no ordinary YA lovey dovey book. This was a full on werewolf horror novel and NO ONE was going to have a kiss and make up moment.
Once I allowed myself to accept that this was not my usual PNR, I really embraced the horror like it should be. Andy Davidson does wonderful justice to the horror genre and brings werewolves back, old-school style. Read this book and remember where all of the paranormal came from and what it is about. Ruth is a character that I believe will speak powerfully to many people and especially young girls. The way Davidson writes werewolves is flawless, I felt like I was right there in the room while the transformation was happening. This is a Must Read Indeed!
Happy Reading,
Fearing the Full Moon once again,
Lisa :)
For more of my reviews check me out at http://teaandbook-shauni.blogspot.com/ and
http://bodicerippers-shauni.blogspot....
May 3, 2017
I finished this story a few days ago. I didn't want to write a review until I had a chance to mull over what I had read. Plot, characters, writing, etc. all flowed through my book filter.
First, I couldn't quite decide if this was teen horror or not. Yeah, Ruth Walker is a teenager, most of the main characters are in high school but there is a certain maturity in this story despite some immature moments by the characters. There were times I thought, I would not give this book to a teen, due to not intense moments but moments I told might go beyond the average teen's understanding. Or maybe I'm not giving them enough credit.
Ruth Walker reminds me of myself in high school. Awkward, not quite fitting in, having only a couple of good friends. She is in love with one and depends on the other. She is teased unmercifully by the 'mean girls'. Her life is a shambles and she hasn't much hope. Her mother is gone and her dad may as well be in another place.
Then the homecoming game and dance comes and her life changes. Not in the typical fairy-tale like way either.
Now I hate reviews that give key plot points or other spoilers so I will say this: In my hey day, I would have slammed down this story in less than 24 hours. As I have gotten older, I've learned to slow down, enjoy each chapter, anticipate the next move by the author as his character act out the story. People you think should be victims, are not. Victims are heroes or anti-heroes. Plot points are not wasted.
This story is written so that you want to go to the next chapter, you want to know that Ruth will be okay, why she is who she is. (BTW, if Andy Davidson is thinking of continuing this story, it could work.) It is no secret that the novella is about werewolves but I like the spin that is on this one. It isn't Lon Chaney or any of the recent werewolf story. (Disclaimer: I am one of three people who has NOT read the Twilight saga so I cannot speak to those creatures.)
Overall, I would recommend this books to anyone that is interesting in horror of any kind. No, it isn't bleeding off the page but there is the right amount of violence. It isn't sugar sweet either. It is the story of a young girl who goes through change in a way that makes her better in the end.
First, I couldn't quite decide if this was teen horror or not. Yeah, Ruth Walker is a teenager, most of the main characters are in high school but there is a certain maturity in this story despite some immature moments by the characters. There were times I thought, I would not give this book to a teen, due to not intense moments but moments I told might go beyond the average teen's understanding. Or maybe I'm not giving them enough credit.
Ruth Walker reminds me of myself in high school. Awkward, not quite fitting in, having only a couple of good friends. She is in love with one and depends on the other. She is teased unmercifully by the 'mean girls'. Her life is a shambles and she hasn't much hope. Her mother is gone and her dad may as well be in another place.
Then the homecoming game and dance comes and her life changes. Not in the typical fairy-tale like way either.
Now I hate reviews that give key plot points or other spoilers so I will say this: In my hey day, I would have slammed down this story in less than 24 hours. As I have gotten older, I've learned to slow down, enjoy each chapter, anticipate the next move by the author as his character act out the story. People you think should be victims, are not. Victims are heroes or anti-heroes. Plot points are not wasted.
This story is written so that you want to go to the next chapter, you want to know that Ruth will be okay, why she is who she is. (BTW, if Andy Davidson is thinking of continuing this story, it could work.) It is no secret that the novella is about werewolves but I like the spin that is on this one. It isn't Lon Chaney or any of the recent werewolf story. (Disclaimer: I am one of three people who has NOT read the Twilight saga so I cannot speak to those creatures.)
Overall, I would recommend this books to anyone that is interesting in horror of any kind. No, it isn't bleeding off the page but there is the right amount of violence. It isn't sugar sweet either. It is the story of a young girl who goes through change in a way that makes her better in the end.
September 16, 2012
A different take on the fantasy coming of age story. Very enjoyable.
October 22, 2012
Review coming soon :)
February 1, 2013
Needs to be longer.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews