16 Dec / Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West [in Booklist]
*STARRED REVIEW
A dead woman opens Catherine Adel West’s startling, haunting debut. Two fathers, two daughters, and the building that is Chicago’s Calvary Hope Christian Church will unravel her unfortunate murder, revealing generations of secrets and violence that culminate in young Ruby King cradling her mother Alice’s dying body.
Kim Staunton as Alice is old beyond her years, the beaten-down wife of brutal Lebanon, who’s already served time for killing. Adam Lazarre-White growls and threatens throughout, simmering in Lebanon’s envy and hate. Their daughter Ruby – made both steely and vulnerable by Imani Parks – couldn’t protect her mother and has already tried suicide as her own escape, but her best friend, Layla, rescued her before and will do anything to help her again.
Newcomer Terra Strong Lyons fills Layla with determined empathy and not a little rebellious spirit, especially directed at her protective father, Jackson, who recognizes the dangers that loom with knowing the Kings. Also making his aural debut, Lloyd Roberson II deftly channels Jackson’s well-substantiated suspicion and blinding worry. Watching over them all is Calvary Church, embodied by veteran Ron Butler, who bears witness to loyalties and deceptions with restraint and solemnity.
Saving Ruby King will mean confronting lies, blackmail, death, incest, and imprisonment to finally reveal the redeeming truth.
Review: “Media,” Booklist, November 1, 2020
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2020