VCA Recaps: Ruby Part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

This recap will consist of chapters 8 & 9.

 

People from the area come to Ruby’s house to pay their respects to her grandmere. Father Rush handles the funeral arrangements while Grandmere’s two closest friends take charge of the wake. Ruby sits beside her grandmere in her casket greeting people.

Grandpere Jack finally arrives, looking a mess. He can’t seem to believe that Grandmere is dead. He vows to clean up his act for Ruby, which Grandmere’s friends seem skeptical about. When Grandpere discovers how she died, he chastises her need to always help others. Ruby makes sure he gets some food and he promises once again to do better so they can take care of one another.

Father Rush and Grandmere’s friends stay as long as they can before Ruby is left alone with her Grandpere and his rowdy friends. She finally manages to fall asleep. In the morning, she finds Grandpere passed out on the galerie even though he denies the empty bottle of whiskey laying on top of him is his. Ruby asks him to clean up before more people arrive and he does so. She even gives him a haircut and trims all his various other facial hairs.

 

Just as many people show up as before to mourn Grandmere Catherine. Grandpere Jack sits outside to greet guests and eventually ends up ranting about various issues. Ruby goes out back to get some air and almost falls over from her exhaustion but Paul Tate is there to conveniently catch her.

They sit down on a rock as Ruby grieves for her grandmere. Paul tells her how sorry he is and that he wish he had been there. Ruby apologizes for what happened between them. When Paul pressures her on why she ended things between them, she has to take a moment to think on whether or not telling him the truth is right or not.

Finally she tells him in a roundabout way about themselves, hoping he will figure it out but he doesn’t until she tells him that his mother died when hers did. Paul doesn’t believe her, confident that Grandmere made the story up to save Ruby heartbreak since his parents were having trouble accepting them. Paul also admits using Suzzette to make Ruby jealous.

Ruby wants Paul to promise her to find someone else to love as much as her when he finds out the truth but he refuses, still adamant that it isn’t true. Paul and Ruby head back inside for the wake. Ruby realizes that even though he doesn’t believe it, Paul has also lost his grandmother.

Grandmere Catherine’s funeral is one of the largest Ruby can recall. Paul stays by her side during it. Even Grandpere Jack cleans himself up to attend. Neither can catch Ruby when she passes out as the casket is being lowered into the ground. Grandpere Jack has already left to join his friends by the time Ruby comes to in the car. Grandmere’s friends ride with her back to the house and make sure she gets to bed.

Paul goes up to check on her and not too soon after, they hear Grandpere Jack shouting from below. When they head downstairs, they find him drinking a jug of whiskey and yelling for everyone to get out of his house. When he throws the jug and it smashes, everyone but Paul flees. Ruby and Paul wait until Grandpere passes out before cleaning up.

Paul hates to leave Ruby with Grandpere but she assures him that it will be OK. He promises to talk to his father before he leaves. In the morning, Ruby wakes up to her grandpere making a mess downstairs because he believes Grandmere has hidden away some money.

Despite Ruby’s protests that she and Grandmere were barely scraping by, he continues to look, even digging around outside. Ruby hears him talking to her grandmere out of frustration as well. Time passes by slowly without Grandmere and Ruby ends up having to do a lot of work to care for her grandpere. She recalls her promise to her grandmere but she’s too afraid to venture out into the city. What if her father rejected her?

Ruby attempts to paint but finds she lacks the motivation. Paul comes by every day, putting off his promise to ask his father the truth. He tells her that he plans to ask during an upcoming fishing trip that just the two of them are going on. Grandpere becomes suspicious of Paul’s visits.

The night of the fishing trip, Ruby wakes up to what she fears is an intruder in her room but turns out to be Paul, who was too upset after the talk to sleep. Paul tells her everything that his father said, including how he claims Gabrielle seduced him, though Paul assures Ruby that he doesn’t believe that.

Paul also reveals that his mother doesn’t know that he knows the truth and that his father agreed it would break her heart. When Ruby agrees, Paul becomes upset that they have to hurt, too. Ruby tells him again that they will have to find other people to love but Paul refuses. He looks to Ruby and tells her that they could just pretend it isn’t true.

Ruby can’t believe what she’s hearing, though she also feels excitement over the wrongness of it. Paul begins to touch her as he attempts to convince her that only Grandpere and his parents know the truth and how none of them would dare say anything about it. Ruby attempts to talk Paul down but he’s too upset. She finds it difficult to resist his touches until Grandpere Jack catches them and hollers.

Ruby is sitting there with one of her boobs out and everything as Paul says they weren’t doing anything.

Grandpere yells at Paul to get out. Once Paul is gone, Grandpere looks at Ruby (boob out and all) and remarks how he didn’t realize just how adult she was becoming (she’s fifteen). He even mentions how it’s time to find her a proper husband.

Ruby retorts that she doesn’t need a husband and that she and Paul weren’t doing anything, which her grandpere scoffs at. As her grandpere returns to bed, Ruby thinks of how far they would have gone had he not interrupted them. She is glad that they didn’t do anything that they would regret. Ruby realizes how hard it was to resist Paul and wonders if perhaps this is another reason her grandmere wanted her to leave the bayou.

Ruby doesn’t see Paul all weekend, nor at school the first day back. That afternoon she goes on a walk, trying to figure out what she should do. Paul approaches her in a motorboat, wanting to show her something. In the boat, he shows her the land he is inheriting, complete with oil bubbling beneath the water. He tells her that he is going to be very rich. Ruby is happy for him but Paul tells her that it means nothing if she isn’t there to share it with him.

He’s brought her to his land to tell her his plans of building a huge plantation house for them to live together. Ruby tries to dissuade him, but he always has an excuse. He tells her they can adopt children or do something like their parents did.

Eventually Ruby gets angry with him for tearing apart her heart with these fantasies. She reluctantly agrees to think about it, though she hopes to wear him down until he realizes what a fantasy his plans are. Paul tells her that he can’t stop loving her and pleads with her not to hate him for it.

Ruby returns home to find Grandpere Jack has brought company—a disgusting sounding 30-year-old man named Buster Trahaw. The descriptions of him alone make me want to gag. As Ruby begins to prepare dinner, Grandpere starts boasting to Buster about all that she does to keep him well cared for—so much that Ruby begins to feel like he’s advertising her.

Grandpere then begins to boast about what a rich man Buster is going to be when his sick father dies and how it’s time for Ruby to think about settling down. When Ruby replies that she still has school, Grandpere waves it away, saying she’s already been schooled way past when he was.

When Ruby adds how she’s going to be an artist, Grandpere and Buster both tell her she’ll have all the brushes and paint she’ll ever need. Buster also makes a lewd comment about Ruby looking good and grow’d up to him. Ruby screams that she isn’t marrying anyone right now and rushes upstairs. She can hear Buster becoming angry with her grandpere on how difficult she’s being. He even offers her grandpere extra money if he can “try her out” first.

Ruby is disgusted when her grandpere takes the offer. She realizes how many excuses she has been making for him when he was an awful person all along. He later comes up to chastise Ruby for being spoiled. Ruby lets him have it, telling him what a disgusting person he is and how he should be protecting her, not selling her.

She also reveals that she knows all about what he did to Paul. Grandpere states that she will be marrying Buster before he heads back downstairs. Ruby begins to pack a small bag. Her grandpere later returns after drinking more and notices the bag, telling her that he thought she might try to run away. He then quickly chains her to the bed.

Ruby screams at him to free her but he goes downstairs to drink some more and crash into furniture. Ruby falls asleep for a bit. When she wakes, it’s quiet. She studies the chain some more and realizes that in his drunken state, her grandpere had just wound the chain around the bed, not realizing that she could just lift the bed up. Lifting it is awkward and painful but she finally manages to free herself.

She scoops up her bag, takes her painting money, and quietly heads downstairs. Taking one last look at the painting of her grandmere, she escapes out the back door. She looks back at the house, remembering all the good and bad that had happened over the course of her life. She considers stopping at her grandmere’s best friends’ houses and at Paul’s to say goodbye but knows they will all talk her out of leaving so she heads to the bus station instead.

She writes a note for Paul, leaving a vague explanation of why she has to leave–to find her father and so they can move on from the fantasy of their relationship. She suggests they remember one another as they were before they knew the truth. Ruby also repeats how they need to try to find other people.

Ruby gets onto the bus some time later and meets a superstitious woman named Annie Gray who gives her a the bone of a cat for good luck. Annie also reminds Ruby that it’s Mardi Gras. Ruby reveals that she is off to see relatives who have no idea she exists.

 

 

Next, Ruby arrives in New Orleans. Will she find her father and sister? Will they accept her arrival?

 

VCA Recaps: Ruby Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2

This recap will consist of chapters 5-7.

 

The school days are hell for Ruby whenever she and Paul happen to meet. He eventually moves on to date a rich girl named Suzzette. Sometimes Ruby feels like telling him the truth and then she remembers Grandmere’s words about being the one to drive him from his family. I don’t agree with Grandmere on this one—Octavious is the one to blame here, not Ruby.

Sweet Ruby even shows some Heaven Leigh Casteel spirit when a girl in the school bathroom is nasty toward her regarding Paul and Suzzette. As time goes on, Paul gets more serious with Suzzette but occasionally Ruby finds him looking at her wistfully.

Summer begins and it’s hotter than Ruby can remember. The heat especially takes a toll on Grandmere, who refuses to stay home and not help when she’s called to. She is convinced that God put her on this Earth to help others in need. She’s honestly the best Christian in the series yet. One day Ruby goes out to her Grandpere’s shack because he’s stopped helping them out and tourist season is over. She is angry that he continues to spend what money he has left over on his booze instead of them.

Summer has made the swamp come even more alive, so much that Ruby describes it as being an animal itself. She arrives at her grandpere’s shack to hear a racket coming from inside. Then a chair is thrown out into the swamp, followed by a pot. Her grandpere comes out stark naked, a bull whip in his hand. He begins to act like there’s an invisible creature trying to get him.

Ruby recalls these fits that her grandmere used to tell her about, caused by the booze soaking into her grandpere’s brain. She moves back so he cannot see her and waits until he passes out. Going to check on him, she covers him with a blanket before she begins to vent her anger at him, screaming about how she hates being a Landry. She finds it’s easy to get all of this anger out when he’s unconscious. She even tells him to go ahead and guzzle his rotgut whiskey until he dies. Disgusted, she returns home.

 

With no school and less tourists, Ruby finds more time to paint but most of her paintings end up being so gloomy that one day Grandmere remarks that no one will want to display them in their homes. Ruby tells her that she can’t help how she feels.

Along with this, Grandmere’s health begins to deteriorate but any time Ruby tries to make her admit it, there’s always some excuse. Grandmere begins to rest more and stops doing many things that used to make her happy.

One Sunday Ruby is surprised to find that she’s gotten up before her grandmere. Ruby tries to get her to go to the doctor but Grandmere Catherine assures her that she’ll be fine in a few days. Grandmere doesn’t improve, but one night Grandpere comes to their house begging for money and that gives her some energy as she yells at him. Ruby is tempted to give him her painting money but Grandmere later assures her that he would only spend it on booze.

The fight wears Grandmere out and Ruby worries that she might not wake in the morning, but she does. During the slow season, Ruby and Grandmere work on their goods to sell later on in the year.

One day Ruby gets a fancy envelope in the mail with the return address simply saying “Dominique’s.” Excited, Ruby rushes inside to open it with her grandmere. She is stunned to find a check for $250 from the sale of one of her paintings. This animates Grandmere so much that she insists on inviting her two closest friends for a nice dinner.

Ruby insists some of the money be spent on their living expenses and Grandmere agrees, though she says Ruby will need some of the money for traveling one day. Grandmere’s friends, Mrs. Thibodeau and Mrs. Livaudis, are impressed with the money Ruby has earned. When Ruby wonders where to put the money, Grandmere instructs her to put it in her oak chest and Ruby goes to do so.

Ruby is saddened to see how little is in the chest now—she had had glimpses of its contents over the course in her life and her grandmere had once had many treasures but now it seems she has bartered most of them for survival. Ruby comes across photos of a younger Grandpere Jack and her grandmere’s parents.

She then notices something sticking out of her grandmere’s crackled Bible and cannot help herself. It’s a photo of a man and a little girl standing in front of what looks like a mansion. The girl looks just like she did at her age, and there’s a note to her mother on the back.

It’s signed by someone named Pierre. Ruby compares the photo with one she has of herself at that age and is confused because she can’t remember ever being with this man, fairly certain he is her real father. None of the explanations in her head make any sense.

After Grandmere’s friends leave, she turns to Ruby and senses something is wrong. Ruby shows her the picture, sure it is her. But Grandmere has more bombs to drop on her—it’s actually Ruby’s sister. Ruby has a sister!

Grandmere tells her everything. How Gabrielle became withdrawn after having Paul and kept to herself in the wilderness. She talks about how everything in nature seemed infatuated with her. Two years after Mr. Tate, a man named Pierre Dumas came to the bayou with his father to do some hunting. Pierre spotted Gabrielle and fell for her. Gabrielle fell for him as well and soon Pierre was coming down solo to be with her.

One day Gabrielle came to her mother and Catherine knew that she was pregnant. Gabrielle was happy about it, even though Pierre already had a wife back in New Orleans who couldn’t give him children. Grandmere concocted the fais dodo love story to help Gabrielle’s reputation but everyone still judged her. Even Grandmere’s best friends.

Charles Dumas, Pierre’s father, and Grandpere Jack made a deal to exchange money for Gabrielle’s baby. Gabrielle’s heart broke when Pierre agreed and she went into such a deep depression that she wasn’t taking care of herself or her pregnancy. Grandmere Catherine noticed how large her daughter was and knew she was carrying twins but kept it a secret so her husband couldn’t sell them both. He was angry when he found out but Grandmere hit him with a frying pan and threw him out of the house.

Weakened from pregnancy, Gabrielle held Ruby before she died. Grandmere Catherine pleads with Ruby to forgive her for keeping all of this a secret and she does. Her grandmere admits Pierre doesn’t know that Gabrielle died and that this was one reason she wanted Ruby’s name to become known in New Orleans—so Pierre might see it and wonder.

Grandmere makes Ruby promise to go to New Orleans to find her father and twin sister should anything happen to her. She also asks Ruby to leave room in her heart to love her father since despite it all, Gabrielle must have seen something in him to be worth loving. Ruby says she will, though right now she feels nothing but hatred for him.

That night Ruby thinks about her twin sister and father, wondering what their reactions will be once they meet. She also wishes that she could just be an ordinary teenage girl without all of these problems on her shoulders. She finds that she loves her grandmere even more for doing her best for Ruby through all of this.

The next day Ruby decides to cheer up her grandmere and give her an excuse to rest by insisting on painting her portrait, a process that takes a while. She also adds a rice bird and her mother’s face in the window, which makes Grandmere sure Ruby has the “power” in their family, only through artistic means, because she often sees Gabrielle in the windows. For once, she begs Ruby not to sell this painting.

One February morning, Grandmere Catherine goes out to help a little boy with a snakebite. A terrible storm brews during it, though Ruby is worried when hours pass after it’s over and her grandmere still isn’t back. The family of the boy later brings Grandmere Catherine, who is laying on a makeshift bed in the back of their truck bed. They help Ruby get her inside.

Ruby sits by her side all through the night. Grandmere wakes up in the morning and tells Ruby it must have been the strain of helping the little boy. She returns to sleep and wakes before lunch, though Ruby is troubled by her blue lips. Grandmere insists on going to sit in her rocker on the galerie. She later tells Ruby to go get the priest just in case, so she can make her peace with God.

Grandmere repeats the promise Ruby made to her about finding her father and sister before she sets her off to find the priest. Ruby hurries, but by the time she returns, her grandmere has passed away. Poor Ruby!

Next, Ruby deals with her grief. Will she honor her promise to her grandmere?

 

VCA Recaps: Ruby Part 2

To read Part 1, go here.

This recap will consist of chapters 2-4.

 

Ruby wakes to the delicious aromas of her grandmere’s cooking. She thinks of how her grandmere always manages to be up and moving before she is. Grandmere Catherine is especially up early on weekends to prepare their roadside stall for the tourists.

Ruby goes downstairs to have breakfast. Her grandmother talks of her selling her best painting of a blue heron coming out of the swamp water. Ruby reasons that if her grandmother loves it so much that perhaps she should have it, but her grandmere goes on about how the rich Creoles will want one of her paintings in their homes once she becomes a famous artist. Ruby feels like there is another reason her grandmere keeps pushing her to exhibit her art.

They get many customers, including the owner of an art gallery who pulls up in a fancy limousine. The man’s name is Dominique LeGrand and he is immediately taken by Ruby’s paintings, offering her $50 as a down payment because he is sure he can sell them for even more in his gallery. Grandmere emphasizes the need for Ruby’s name to be shown with the paintings.

As Dominique leaves with Ruby’s paintings, Grandmere predicts that this is the beginning of her bright future. Ruby offers Grandmere the money but she refuses, although she does put the money in her sacred oak chest that even Grandpere Jack won’t touch.

After dinner, Paul Tate comes by to take Ruby for crushed ice but after hearing about the gallery owner, he decides she really deserves an ice cream soda instead. What a guy! As they walk to town, Paul talks about how Ruby will one day move away from the bayou and live in a big house as a famous artist, forgetting all about him. Ruby assures Paul that she could never forget him.

Ruby asks Paul to come to supper with her and Grandmere and though Paul is uncertain about his parents, he decides they’ll just have to get used to the idea of him and Ruby. The two have their ice cream sodas in town and just as they are finishing, a commotion begins outside. Grandpere Jack, a drunken, swearing mess, is being thrown out of a restaurant called the Cajun Queen.

Embarrassed, Ruby hurries him to his dingy boat, which Paul drives to Grandpere Jack’s shack. Grandpere first mistakes Ruby as her mother, Gabrielle. They get Grandpere to his pigsty of a shack before returning toward Grandmere’s house. Before they leave, Ruby hears her grandpere murmuring about love and money. She tries to get more of him but he’s too drunk to speak logically.

When they near Grandmere’s house, Paul and Ruby make out for a bit. Ruby wants to go further but remembers her grandmere’s warning and asks Paul to stop, which he does. In a VCA novel, men who are into consent are rare.

Ruby also apologizes for her grandpere’s behavior. By the time Paul drops her off, one of Grandmere Catherine’s friends has already come by with the news of Grandpere Jack’s spectacle. Ruby tells her about the things her grandpere mumbled about and while it’s obvious Grandmere knows exactly what he’s talking about, she brushes off the subject as drunken nonsense.

Ruby goes to bed dreaming of a future as a famous artist in a big house with Paul on the bayou.

In the morning, Ruby and her grandmere go to church, where they can tell they are being gossiped about because of Grandpere Jack’s behavior, which grandmere makes known she doesn’t approve of. The priest also somewhat chastises Grandmere for her spiritual activity, though he later concludes that he would never refuse assistance in the battle against the devil.

Paul breaks away from his family to ask Grandmere what time supper is. He doesn’t get much time to talk before his mother, looking over with disapproval, calls him back over.

Ruby heads home ahead of her grandmere, who is bringing two friends over for coffee and pie. She encounters her grandpere at the house retrieving his boat. He chastises Ruby when she tells him that Paul Tate helped her get him home. He also tells Ruby that the only reason women like her grandmere and her friends go to church is to gossip.

When Ruby asks him why he doesn’t go, he declares that the swamp is his church. Ruby then asks him about the drunk “love and money” ramblings from the night before but Grandpere brushes it off as something to do with his relatives before he heads back to his shack. Ruby wonders how her grandparents could ever love one another.

Later on while Ruby helps Grandmere with supper, her grandmere warns her not to build Paul up too high in her mind so she isn’t disappointed. She then asks Ruby if she’s been a good girl, which Ruby has. Grandmere reminds her of what happened to her mother.

Ruby makes small talk with her grandmere as they finish cooking, then cleans up the place until it sparkles, eager to impress Paul. She goes outside to wait for him but he doesn’t show. Ruby begins to worry if something happened to him. Grandmere finally calls Ruby to dinner when it’s clear Paul isn’t going to show.

He later arrives, explaining that his parents wouldn’t let him come after all but that he had to come apologize. Paul tells Ruby that he’s not going to let his parents keep them apart. This troubles Ruby, who doesn’t want anything bad to happen between him and his parents. Paul apologizes to Grandmere and Ruby before he heads home, vowing again that he’s going to make his parents understand that their relationship isn’t up to them.

Grandmere tells Ruby that Paul is a nice young man but that she can’t rip him from his parents. She delays whether Ruby can go with Paul to the dance for the next few days until Ruby puts her foot down. Grandmere is afraid of Ruby ending up disappointed and suggests she just take her to the dance.

Ruby gets upset, saying how she’s fifteen and not a baby. She runs to her room to cry.

Here I was, fifteen, other girls my age far less pretty than I enjoying themselves on real dates while I was expected to go trailing along with my grandmere to the fais dodo.

While I feel for the girl, wasn’t she just telling Paul a few chapters ago how much prettier all the other girls were?

Grandmere comes upstairs to apologize, reminding Ruby that she only wants to protect her. She eventually agrees that Paul can take her. On Saturday, Grandmere helps Ruby with her hair and tells her how pretty she is and how she’s going to have a lot of nice boyfriends. She has Ruby promise not to give away her heart too quickly.

Ruby is a little worried about her grandmere’s health when she starts acting off but Grandmere brushes it off. Paul soon arrives with one of his family’s cars because it’s raining. People stare when the two of them arrive but they ignore the looks and soon find themselves having too much fun with one another to care. When they go to get some food, some boys follow them. One of the boys is Turner Browne, a bully from school.

Turner teases Paul about slumming it with Ruby. Paul gets easily upset but Ruby tells him not to bother with someone that stupid. Turner tells Ruby that at least he knows who his father is. This is too much for Paul, who tackles him. Paul ends up with a cut lip when the older men come to break up the fight. Ruby insists that they head to Grandmere’s so she can tend to his injuries.

Grandmere already has everything out by the time they arrive, as if she had the feeling they would need it. She begins to tend to Paul as Ruby relates everything that just happened. Before she can even tell her grandmere what Turner Browne said about her mother, she seems to know. Grandmere goes into how Grandpere Jack used to always get into brawls.

Then there’s this gem:

“I do love the way the bayou smells after a good rain. It makes everything fresh and clean. I wish it would do the same to people.” — Grandmere Catherine

Grandmere suddenly shudders, embracing herself. Ruby becomes worried but as usual, her grandmere brushes it off. Grandmere returns to tending to Paul, who she doesn’t seem mad about concerning the fight but does make him promise not to make a habit of it.

Ruby escorts Paul out to his car. He apologizes again for the fight. Ruby says it’s okay and how they had a lot of fun dancing before then. She reveals this was her first date, which surprises Paul. When Paul winces in pain from his lip, Ruby softly kisses him and he tells her he will have to come by daily for that treatment. She teases that she will need his undying devotion but Paul grows serious and tells her she already has that.

Paul says that despite the fight, this has been one of the best nights of his life. With that, he drives off. Ruby turns to find her grandmere on the galerie watching them with a strange expression on her face. When Ruby asks her if she’s alright, Grandmere sighs and tells her that she has to tell her something.

 

They go inside, where Grandmere begins to speak of Ruby’s mother, Gabrielle. About how naive she was. How at sixteen, she came to her mother to reveal that she was pregnant. It took Grandpere Jack nearly beating her death (!!!!) to find out who was the father—Octavious Tate. Octavioushad been older and married yet had still seduced Gabrielle.

I seem to remember things happening a little differently but I’ll wait until I get through Tarnished Gold to check that. Anyway.

Grandmere also relates to how Grandpere Jack sold the baby to Octavious Tate, who raised it as his and his wife’s; Gabrielle was kept hidden away at home. The baby was a boy. Paul Tate. Grandmere says that she never told Ruby because she didn’t want her to think terrible of her mother. She had never counted on Ruby and Paul becoming close. All the warnings about Paul suddenly make sense.

 

Ruby is in shock that Paul is her half brother and says this will destroy him. Grandmere agrees and tells Ruby that Paul shouldn’t hear it from her because doing so would destroy their family. Grandmere comforts Ruby when she begins to cry and tells her this is why she wants her away from the bayou so much. Ruby cries that she will never leave her grandmere but Grandmere predicts she will have to one day.

Grandmere apologizes for having to tell the truth but Ruby doesn’t hold it against her. Ruby looks to the place outside where she and Paul kissed goodnight, mourning the relationship that can never be.

“The sin that had given Paul life had reared its ugly head and taken away his love.” — Ruby Landry

Ruby tosses and turns all night. Grandmere doesn’t seem to be faring much better, only getting up a few minutes before Ruby does. Grandmere also complains about her aches and pains, which is unusual for her. She refuses to close the stall or use Ruby’s painting money so Ruby tries to do what she can to make things easier on her grandmere as they set up shop.

Later on, Paul drives up on his scooter. When Ruby asks him why he’s not working at the cannery, Paul tells her how he can no longer use the car because he and his father got into a fight. Ruby tries to convince Paul that his family is doing what is best for him. When this doesn’t work, she tells Paul that she’s been thinking that she’s unsure if he is what is best for her.

Going on, Ruby explains how as an artist she needs to explore lots of things and how they should see other people. This does not go well with Paul. He erupts, even going so far to tell Ruby that she doesn’t want to be an artist—she wants to be a whore!

Paul concludes that his father was right about being with a Landry and storms off. I know he’s hurting, but I personally felt like shoving him for the mean things he said.

Later on at the stall, a young man asks if he can take Grandmere Catherine and Ruby’s picture. When Grandmere tells him there’s no charge, Ruby interjects and says that yes there is. When the man leaves, grandmere asks her why she charged him two dollars for the photo.

“Because the world is full of pain and disappointment, Grandmere, and I plan to do all I can from now on to make it less so for us.”

Grandmere tells Ruby that she wants her to grow, but not as someone with a hard heart. Ruby replies that a soft heart gets torn and that she won’t be like her mother. Grandmere asks about what happened with Paul and Ruby tells her that she broke things off and now he hates her.

Ruby becomes so upset that she runs off into the marshes to find a deer being shot by tourists who her Grandpere Jack has brought. Ruby thinks of how beautiful the things in the swamp can be, but also how deadly.

When Ruby returns to the house, a sudden rain storm has started. She hurries to help her grandmere bring the unsold goods inside. Later, Grandmere asks her exactly what she told Paul. Ruby tells her about her artist excuse and says Paul didn’t believe her, that she’s a bad liar. Grandmere says that isn’t such a bad thing. Ruby doesn’t seem convinced but Grandmere warns her against hating everyone and everything, that there is always hope.

Grandmere tells Ruby what she wants for her is a grand wedding like the one in the Cajun spider legend, describing it in great detail. She promises Ruby that one day she will marry a handsome man and have a wedding in the stars. This makes Ruby cry and Grandmere comforts her. Later that night, Ruby wonders if her grandmere’s predictions will come true, but all she can see is Paul’s wounded face and the deer crying out before it died.

This story is getting good! I hope Lifetime will do a decent job at depicting the setting, because it’s intriguing.

That’s all for now!

 

VCA Recaps: Ruby Part 1

This year I am re-reading the Landry series, which are soon to become movies on the Lifetime channel. My recaps were originally inspired by this page here.

I can’t remember when I last visited this series, but I still remember most of the major plot points and characters. As always, it will be interesting to revisit this series! For now I only have plans to do the first book, but we’ll see how it goes.

These recaps are filled with SPOILERS so read at your own risk! These are more for longtime VCA fans though anyone is welcome to read!

Anyways, I present to you… Ruby! This recap will cover the prologue and first chapter.

 

 

Ruby begins with a prologue concerning how the main character, Ruby Landry, has lived fifteen years without her mother, who tragically died on her birth date. She reveals her mixed feelings concerning her birthday because of this, even though her Grandmere Catherine does her best to make the occasion joyous. She also wonders at why her Grandmere and Grandpere just can’t seem to get along, much less live in the same house.

In chapter one, the book starts with someone rapping at the door while Ruby and Grandmere Catherine are working on blankets they intend to sell when the tourists come by their house in the morning. Ruby goes to investigate and discovers Theresa Rodrigues at the door, begging for her grandmere to come to her house where her mother has had a stillbirth.

Grandmere Catherine is a Traiteur, which is basically a spiritual healer. She is highly regarded in the Cajun community for her “powers.” Ruby learns that they are going to perform a “couchemal”, a ceremony to drive an evil spirit away from the family when an unbaptized baby has died. Ruby and Grandmere hurry after Theresa to perform the ceremony, which involves Virgin Mary statues and adding holy water to any vessel of water in or around the house.

It is revealed that Ruby and her grandmere live in Houma, Louisiana. They live in a toothpick house on the bayou. Ruby asks her grandmother about the ceremony as they make their way to the Rodrigues house. While there, Ruby is certain she feels the spirit against her face as well as sees a pale gray baby spirit float away.

On their way home, Ruby asks her grandmere if she thinks the spirit is truly gone. Grandmere replies that she is confident and wishes that she could do the same thing to Grandpere Jack. This leads to Ruby thinking of her grandpere and his complicated history with her grandmere. Ruby yearns for the two to get back together, especially since everyone at school comes from a two parent family.

I’m not sure what decade this is supposed to be set in—80s?—but I find it a little hard to believe that there are no other broken families. Anyway, Ruby goes on to tell us about how Grandpere Jack lives in a trapper’s shack and mostly traps and sells muskrats to make a living. She goes to visit him via canoe despite her grandmere not liking it.

She thinks of her face-less father, who supposedly met her mother at a Cajun dance called a fais dodo and fell in love. Then “the love they made so wildly and carefree that night” resulted in Ruby. That is exactly how Grandmere Catherine describes Ruby’s conception. Yeah. OK.

Ruby goes on to describe how she used to do sketches of her father, trying to imagine what he looked like. As she got older, she began to paint him even though it began to distress her grandmere, who tried to steer her toward paintings of wildlife instead. Ruby doesn’t seem able to help including him in her pictures, however.

She then goes on to describe how she and her grandmere put out the paintings, woven baskets, and all kinds of other stuff out to sell when the tourists come by. Is this a thing that happened/still happens? I can’t even imagine having people come by my house to look around and buy stuff. Grandmere even makes her famous gumbo and jambalaya for their lunches.

This leads to how Grandpere Jack also leaves money for them, which Grandmere Catherine pretends not to see nor thank him for. Grandmere uses him as a warning to Ruby when it comes to love and how she should have known he would be bad considering he came from the “Landry” family. Which apparently were so bad people made “No Laundrys Allowed” signs.

When Ruby tries to probe her grandmere into why she and her grandpere don’t get along, Grandmere Catherine states that is between the two of them. Even though Grandpere Jack is an alcoholic gambler, there seems to be something even worse about him in Grandmere Catherine’s eyes. Ruby ponders on why her grandmere can help so many others but is unable to help herself.

“The bayou was a world filled with many mysterious things. Every journey into it, revealed something surprising. A secret until that moment not discovered. But the secrets held in our own hearts were the secrets I longed to know the most.” — Ruby Landry

Grandmere and Ruby return to the house to find handsome seventeen-year-old Paul Tate waiting. Paul is the son of Octavious Tate, one of the richest men in town. Ruby is in the same class as Jeanne, his younger sister, and knows the youngest sister, Toby. Despite knowing the Tates for years, she and Paul have only began becoming close to one another. Grandmere as well as Paul’s family are not fans of this.

While Grandmere goes inside to work on the blankets, Ruby tells Paul about what just happened at the Rodrigues house. Paul’s family doesn’t believe in the superstitions and folklore that most Cajuns seem to but Paul is very polite about Grandmere Catherine’s abilities. When Ruby tells Paul about encountering the spirit, he tells her that he wishes he had been there to protect her, which pleases her.

Paul asks Ruby to get crushed ice with him after dinner the next day, then asks her what he really wanted to—to go with him to the fais dodo on Saturday night. Ruby tells him that she will have to ask her grandmere but that she would like to go very much. Paul is in such a daze that he trips over a root on his way to his scooter, which he and Ruby have a good laugh about. The laugh then turns into a kiss.

Ruby then kind of ruins the moment when Paul tells her that she is the prettiest and nicest girl in the bayou.

“Oh, no, I’m not, Paul. I can’t be. There are so many prettier girls, girls who have expensive clothes and expensive jewelry and—“

Thankfully Paul protests, saying none of that matters to him.

“Nothing could make them prettier than you.”

Grandmere Catherine calls for Ruby to come in. Paul gets on his scooter and leaves as Ruby rejoins her grandmere. They talk about Paul, especially concerning how his parents feel about his crush on Ruby. Ruby doesn’t seem to care what they think. Grandmere tries to guilt trip Ruby by suggesting her bad Landry blood will get her into trouble just like it did with Ruby’s mother.

It isn’t nice, but Grandmere truly seems to care about Ruby’s future, wishing that she will one day leave the bayou. She raves about Ruby’s artistic talents. Ruby asks her grandmere about the dance but Grandmere Catherine doesn’t seem very enthused about it, seeming to worry about whether Paul’s parents will let him.

Ruby asks if they can invite him to dinner. Grandmere replies that she’s never turned anyone away from her dinner table. The two return to their work, Ruby feeling excited about the dinner and possible dance.

Will Ruby’s hopes work out? This is a VCA novel so probably not, but we’ll see what happens next!

 

Books in November & December 2019

Apologies for the delays on these. I’m going to do a short version this time around.

 

Books in November 2019

9 Total

New Favorites: Far from the Tree by Robin Benway & White Trash Zombie Gone Wild by Diana Rowlings
Graphic Novel: Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol
New Kids: The Key to the Indian by Lynne Reid Banks
Childhood: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Classic: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

 

Ratings:

*11/23/63 by Stephen King — 3.5⭐
*Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol–3.5⭐
*Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar–5⭐ (reread)
*The Key to the Indian by Lynne Reid Banks–3.5⭐
*Far from the Tree by Robin Benway–5⭐
*Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier–4⭐
*The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin–5⭐
*White Trash Zombie Gone Wild by Diana Rowland–5⭐
*Darkest Hour by V.C. Andrews (Andrew Neiderman)–5⭐

 

Books in December 2019

Total: 8

Favorite: Starsight by Brandon Sanderson
Graphic Novel: The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg
Childhood: The Sweet Scent of Christmas by Patricia M. Scarry
New Kids: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
True Crime Book Club: The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber
Nonfiction: The Art of Discarding by Nagisa Tatsumi

Ratings:

* The Nine Lives of Christmas by Shelia Roberts –3.5⭐
* NOS4A2 by Joe Hill–4⭐
* The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats–3.5⭐
* The Art of Discarding by Nagisa Tatsumi–3⭐
* The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber–2.5⭐
* Starsight by Brandon Sanderson–4.5⭐
* The Sweet Scent of Christmas by Patricia M. Scarry–3.5⭐
* The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg–3⭐

 

 

What did you read during November and December of 2019?

 

2020 Changes

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of posts. I know I’m behind on posting the book pictures from November and December. The last half of 2019 felt like a mental suckerpunch. I still plan on posting those pictures, but I will not be posting any new ones starting in 2020. I will be posting reviews and the stack of books I read on my instagram @ceruleananimation if you are interested in following me there.

 

I am sad to say that I have grown too busy, and perhaps, lost the passion for blogging. It no longer brings me joy. I don’t love WordPress’ new interface, either. Often I find myself behind even though I don’t post all that much anymore. I’m not sure that is fair to my readers or to myself. This blog will remain up and occasionally I may even post, but I have other plans in mind for 2020.

 

2020 is a year of changes. One of my top goals is to finish my final re-write/edit of The Birthday Bash. Years of querying has sucked the passion for writing from me and I have been working hard to find it again over the last couple of years. For NaNoWriMo 2019, which I know I neglected to post about, I wrote some of a fun V.C. Andrews inspired murder mystery and remembered why I loved writing in the first place. It’s about creating something, using my imagination to pretend just like I did when I was little. Writing what I did of that story brought me joy I hadn’t experienced in a while.

 

This year’s goal is to self publish The Birthday Bash. I no longer care if I become a bestselling author–at this point, I would just be happy to have readers, to hold my book in print, or read it on my phone. To save myself further stress and loss of joy concerning writing, I am focusing on writing for myself, and those who want to read what I write.

 

Even if nothing comes from self publishing The Birthday Bash, I love the story and will be happy it’s out there to share with the world. There is a deep need inside of me to re-ignite my passion for writing and this is the best plan I can think of. I will also be creating a new author website and will post about it once it is ready.

 

If you are still here with me, I am happy to have you and I thank you for all of your support. I will try to post recent updates on my Facebook page, J.N Cahill, and you can also find me on Twitter @JNCahill1, if you want to keep up with my most recent news. I am hoping to have The Birthday Bash published this early Fall, but I will not stress if it ends up needing more time. This story deserves the best send off that I can give it.

 

 

 

Books in October 2019

Books in October

11.5 Total (counting Night Film as half)

 

Favorite: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Least Liked: Night Film by Marisha Pessl & Gruesome Facts by Igloo Books
Classic: The October Country by Ray Bradbury
Peter’s True Crime Book Club: My Friend Anna by Rachel DeLoache Williams
Childhood: The Bunnicula Collection by James Howe
New Kids: Frankenstein Makes A Sandwich by Alex Rex
Graphic Novel: Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Ratings:

Monster by Walter Dean Myers–3⭐
The October Country by Ray Bradbury–4⭐
The Bunnicula Collection by James Howe–4⭐
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness–4.5⭐
His Hideous Heart by Dahlia Adler–3.5⭐
Night Film by Marisha Pessl– DNFed at 50%
Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix–3.5⭐
My Friend Anna by Rachel DeLoache Williams–3⭐
Through the Woods by Emily Carroll–3 ⭐
The Outsider by Stephen King–4⭐
Frankenstein Makes A Sandwich by Alex Rex–4⭐
Gruesome Facts by Igloo Books–2⭐

 

 

My favorite book for October was A Monster Calls. It broke me because it deals with grief and made me think of my cat, Midnight, who passed away in August, but it’s probably exactly what I needed at the time. 4.5⭐

 

My graphic novel pick for the month. The stories were disappointing but the horrific yet stunning art was fantastic. 3⭐

My childhood read for the month. I’m not sure which ones I read aside from the first but decided to go ahead and read the other two in this collection. They were great fun. The cat and dog humor was spot on and those white vegetables have always stuck with me. 4⭐

New kid’s read. This was hilarious (reminded me of The Stinky Cheese Man book I loved as a kid) and had excellent art. Perfect for your kiddos next Halloween! 4⭐

The pick for Peter’s True Crime Book Club. I’d recommend the audio, as the author narrates. It was fascinating but a bit on the repetitive side, which got a little annoying. There’s apparently two movie deals for each girl in the works. This case blew my mind. 3⭐

My classic. Ray Bradbury’s beautiful writing + Autumn stories made a wonderful combination. 4⭐

What did you read in October? What was your favorite?

Books in September 2019

Books in September

13 Total

 

Favorites: Shark Lady, Through the Water Curtain and Other Tales From Around the World & Salt to the Sea.

Childhood: The Mystery of the Cupboard

New Kids: Shark Lady

Graphic Novel: Wires and Nerves #2: Going Rogue

Nonfiction: Walking in Daniel’s Shoes

 

Ratings:

How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back by Diana Rowling–4⭐

Midnight Whispers by V.C. Andrews (Andrew Neiderman)-4.5⭐

The Mystery of the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks–3.5⭐

Through the Water Curtain and Other Tales from Around the World by Cornelia Funke–4.5⭐

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware–3⭐

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers–4⭐

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys-4.5⭐

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli–4.25⭐

Wires and Nerve #2: Going Rogue by Marissa Meyer–3⭐

Shave the Whales by Scott Adams–3.5⭐

Walking in Daniel’s Shoes by Tom Mauser–4⭐

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager–4⭐

Shark Lady by Jess Keating–5⭐

 

My favorites for the month

 

My new kids read, as well as one of my favorites for the month

 

My childhood read for the month

 

My graphic novel for the month

 

My nonfiction pick.

 

What did you read in September? What was your favorite?

 

 

 

Books in August 2019

Books in August

14 Total
* one was an ebook so it is not pictured here (American Predator).

Favorites: Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton, The Complete Chi’s Sweet Home Vol 2 by Kanata Konami, & American Predator by Maureen Callahan

Least Liked: The Real Simple Guide to Organizing by Real Simple Editors

Peter’s True Crime Book Club: American Predator by Maureen Callahan

Childhood: First Day at School by Jane Carruth

New Kids: Holes by Louis Sachar

Graphic Novel: The Complete Chi’s Seet Home Vol 2 by Kanata Konami

August was a great reading month! I enjoyed most everything, even the experience of my least liked book.

Ratings by Read Date:

The Au Pair by Emma Rous: 4.5⭐
Rich People Problems by Kevin Kawn: 4⭐
Real Simple Guide to Organizing: 2.5⭐
First Day at School by Jane Carruth: 4⭐
Chippy’s Favorite Toys by Jane Carruth: 3.5⭐
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton: 5⭐
The Complete Chi’s Sweet Home Vol 2 by Kanata Konami: 5⭐
Holes by Louis Sachar: 4.5⭐
Goosebumps: Ghost Camp by R.L. Stine: 4⭐
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick: 4⭐
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire: 4⭐
Animorphs: The Sickness by K.A. Applegate (Melinda Metz): 4⭐
American Predator by Maureen Callahan: 5⭐
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins: 4⭐

My favorite book of the month and for the year (so far).

My graphic novel for the month.

My new kid’s read of the month. Wish I’d read this as a kid!

My childhood read.

My True Crime ebook, which was excellent.

What did you read in August? What was your favorite?

Books in July 2019

Apologies for the delay. Life has not been kind to me lately. But here are all of the books I read in July!

 

Nine total.

Favorites: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid & The Line Tender by Kate Allen

Childhood: Tiggy and the Giant Wave by Jane Carruth

New Kids: The Line Tender by Kate Allen

Graphic Novel: This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki

Mini Book Club: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Peter’s Book Club (True Crime): Zodiac by Robert Graysmith

I liked everything this month (3⭐ and above). My Lovely Wife (4⭐), Emma in the Night (4⭐), China Rich Girlfriend (3.5⭐), and Animorphs: The Experiment (3⭐).

 

One of my favorite books for the month. 4.5⭐

 

My other favorite book and also my New Kid’s read for the month. 4.5⭐

 

My childhood read for the month. 3⭐

 

Our pick for Peter’s Book Club (true crime). 3.5⭐

 

My graphic novel for the month. 4 ⭐

 

 

What did you read in July? What was your favorite?