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A review by martasbooktherapy
Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West
4.0
4.5 stars
While Saving Ruby King came out in 2020 and The Two Lives of Sara came out in 2022, I'm happy I read The Two Lives of Sara first. It gives so much background and depth to Ruby's story and built immense amounts of empathy in me for the characters portrayed in Saving Ruby King. It absolutely broke my heart to go from toddler Lebanon in TTLoS to the adult Lebanon in SRK and realize what could've been different if things turned out in Sara's life. If you haven't read both books, that statement might not make sense, but it's heartbreaking to see generational trauma passed down to young children over and over again.
Best friends Ruby and Layla are each others' keepers. They forge an intergenerational bond passed down through their grandmothers' close friendship. Ruby and Layla both have trials in their past (and some in their present) and are committed to helping one another through them. However, secrets are kept all around them and by them. It seems only telling the whole truth will set them free.
The audiobook of this novel was excellent - the multiple POVs are narrated by different people which truly brings the characters to life, even the inanimate church which is one of the narrators!
While Saving Ruby King came out in 2020 and The Two Lives of Sara came out in 2022, I'm happy I read The Two Lives of Sara first. It gives so much background and depth to Ruby's story and built immense amounts of empathy in me for the characters portrayed in Saving Ruby King. It absolutely broke my heart to go from toddler Lebanon in TTLoS to the adult Lebanon in SRK and realize what could've been different if things turned out in Sara's life. If you haven't read both books, that statement might not make sense, but it's heartbreaking to see generational trauma passed down to young children over and over again.
Best friends Ruby and Layla are each others' keepers. They forge an intergenerational bond passed down through their grandmothers' close friendship. Ruby and Layla both have trials in their past (and some in their present) and are committed to helping one another through them. However, secrets are kept all around them and by them. It seems only telling the whole truth will set them free.
The audiobook of this novel was excellent - the multiple POVs are narrated by different people which truly brings the characters to life, even the inanimate church which is one of the narrators!