One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
By: Sonya Sones


This book is realistic fiction by Sonya Sones; It's about a girl named Ruby who has to move to Beverly Hills to live with her father after her mother dies from an illness. Ruby's father is Whip Logan, an extremely famous actor. Ruby hates him before she even meets him, because he has never even bothered to visit her before or even call her. So when Ruby arrives in Beverly Hills, Whip is very nice to her, but she decides that he is acting and that he doesn't really care. This book really opened my eyes about how emotions shouldn't be pent up inside you, and I would recommend it to everyone.

Ruby is extremely sad when she finds out that she has to move, because she has to leave her “gorgeous boyfriend,” Ray, and her best friend, Lizzie, and won't get to see them until Thanksgiving break. On top of that, Ruby's Aunt Duffy is leaving on an archaeological dig and won't be reachable in any way for six months.

Ruby doesn't really know much of anything about her father except that he's a famous actor. Every year for her birthday Aunt Duffy would take Ruby to the theater to see one of Whip Logan's new movies, as long as she kept it a secret. Ruby kept quiet, even to herself. She never seems to care about who her father is. There is a lot from her past that Ruby doesn't know that just starts to unravel now.
Life in Beverly Hills is very different for Ruby. The paparazzi meet her as she gets off the plane at the airport. Her next door neighbor is Cameron Diaz and her first friend at school is Marissa Shawn's daughter. Ruby meets Brad Pitt at the corner drug store! Her house is huge and the room Whip has set up for her is perfect, but Ruby isn't happy.

Ruby constantly e-mails Lizzie and Ray, and also writes e-mails to her mother, although they never get sent. Ruby gets more desperate as it gets closer to Thanksgiving to see Ray, and make sure he isn't going out with anyone else. She feels left out of everything that's going on back in her hometown, and wishes that nothing had ever changed.

All the while, Ruby constantly has to put up with Whip and his “fake love.” Ruby discovers that there is a lot of stuff that Whip and her have in common. Her life would be a lot better if she didn't have a grudge against Whip. After an earthquake in which Ruby was almost severely hurt, Ruby gets rid of her grudge and finds out why her father never visited her.

Ruby's life has changed a lot from the beginning of the story; she becomes more open to possibilities and understands more about her mother. This book carries a great lesson for life, and everyone should know that lesson. If you want to find out about what happens to Ruby, Ray, Lizzie, and Whip, and find out why Whip never made contact with Ruby, you should read this book. Although Ruby lost her old life that she thought was perfect, her new life is turning out to be great. Besides, her bathtub is so fancy it makes her feel like a moron!