Ruby Oliver, Your Business is My Business
Release Date: September 2006
Publisher: Random House | Delacorte
Pages: 224 pages
Series: Ruby Oliver #2
Pages: 224 pages
Series: Ruby Oliver #2
Source & Format: Library; Hardcover
Amazon | Goodreads
Sum It Up
It's the start of a new year, but things haven't changed that much. Ruby's still not speaking to Kim and Cricket. She's patched things up - kind of - with Nora. She's got two news friends, but she's not convinced they can ever replace the ones she's lost. She's still meeting with her therapist, Dr. Z, and trying to figure out what's going on with Jackson.
A new job and new friends still can't fix all of Ruby's problems. That's up to her.
By Its Cover: Give Me the Penguin!
This cover is fine, but not great. I think I prefer the cover I got from the library with the penguin figurine on it. That captured the quirkiness of Ruby perfectly!
Amen, Sister Friend: Hey Girl!
Ruby's got the same funny voice as she did in the first. She sounds like a real teenager, complete with her own kind of slang. She can be kind of snarky, but she isn't mean. She's insecure, but she has moments of complete confidence. She's been hurt by her friends, but she still finds new ones. She's confused and questions herself, but she makes decisions and does what she wants. I'd totally be her friend!
Literary Love: He's a Charmer!
Remember what I said about the first book? Well, I still pretty much feel exactly the same way: Jackson (ugh!) and Noel (hmm...). To try to remain spoiler free, I'll just keep it at that.
Word Nerd: More of the Same
Ruby is still her funny, straightforward and teenager self. Lockhart has done it again! I think I enjoyed this book even more than the first. The books are clever and engaging! In fact, I finished this in one evening and wished I'd slowed down a little to just savor it!
Extra, Extra: Movie Trivia
Ruby is a movie fiend! That girl is stuffed to the brim with all kinds of movie knowledge, and I was so impressed! I thought I was a movie fan, but she totally takes the cake. I loved how she used moved to support points that she was trying to make about real life. I wrote a few down that I either hadn't seen or had forgotten about and need a refresher. These were definitely my favorite of all the footnotes!
Extra, Extra: The Boy Book Excerpts
I loved the excerpts from "The Boy Books." Some of them were absolutely spot-on (hello chapter about talking to a boy on the phone), and others just made me laugh. I also totally related to having a fun friend project because I totally would have wanted to do something like this with my friends in high school! It also made you more aware of what she'd lost when her friends rejected her.
So Quotable
"I see Kim, and there is still an ache for the kind of friends we used to be. Because I don't have that with anyone, the way I did with her. And maybe I never will.
Maybe friendships aren't like that when we get older.
But the Kim ache is dull. Not a surge of immediate panicky pain and anger like it used to be. It's an ache for what happened in the past, not what's happening now.
I can live with it.
And I do."
*I actually chose this quote because it made me tear up. Why? Because I had a friendship that totally fell apart and this was how I felt about her for a while afterwards. It just hit me because it so perfectly captured exactly how I felt that it seemed as if I could have written it. I'm glad I read this book for that quote alone.
Bottom Line: Fans of the First Will Love the Second
Chances are, if you liked the first Ruby Oliver novel, you'll be a fan of the second! Ruby's back with more of the same antics, and she's got the same lovable voice and relatable attitude. I think everyone can relate at least a little bit to her rejection and friendship struggles... and if you can't, Lockhart writes in a way that will make you feel like you do.
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