Ruby Holler Review

Yes, another book I read months ago that I couldn't review because of the HarperCollins strike. But here we are now!

Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech is about two 13 year old orphans named Dallas and Florida. They've never had a trusted adult in their lives that they felt safe around, because they are usually taken in by a foster family that get sick of them after a while, and then return them to the run-down orphanage they grew up in, run by a mean couple named Mr. and Mrs. Trepid. Dallas and Florida constantly dream of becoming runaways by sneaking onto the train that sometimes runs through the town.

Not far from the small town they live in, there is a farm called Ruby Holler where an elderly couple named Tiller and Sairy live. They decide to go on two separate trips (a canoeing trip for Tiller and a camping trip for Sairy) and also decide to take in Dallas and Florida and invite them on their trips (Florida will go with Tiller, Dallas will go with Sairy). For the first time in their lives, Dallas and Florida live with kind, loving, and patient foster parents, and they're very skeptical at first but then they end up loving Tiller and Sairy. At the same time, Mr. and Mrs. Trepid, the heads of the orphanage Dallas and Florida came from, plan on stealing the funding for Tiller and Sairy's trips and other money they can find (mostly the funding for the orphanage, which is why it's gone downhill) to go on a luxurious cruise. 

I think this is my most favorite Sharon Creech book, up there with Absolutely Normal Chaos. I read it months ago and it's the Sharon Creech book I think about the most. I think it's because of the main theme being about stability, and safety, and trust, which were two things Dallas and Florida needed the most in their lives, and they got it with Tiller and Sairy. I also love the old-timey feel of the setting. 

I gave this book 4.5 stars. I took half a point off because the word "stupid" appears too many times in this book (usually uttered by Florida and sometimes Dallas). I don't like that word at all, and it was annoying to see it used frequently, but I still loved the story overall for what it was. 

What is a book you read that you can't stop thinking about?