Love, Ruby Lavender

By: Deborah Wiles

Narrated by: Judith Ivey

Who is Ruby Lavender? She used to have a fun life, until her Yoo-hoo-drinking, pink muumuu-wearing, best friend of a grandmother up and left for Hawaii to spend the summer with her new (smelly) grandbaby. Now Ruby is stuck in boring old Halleluia, Mississippi, reading to her chickens, sweeping floors at the general store (torture), and being tormented by the curly-haired, tip-tapping Melba Jane.

In letter after letter, nine-year-old Ruby pours out her heart to her grandmother. But there is one thing Ruby cannot tell even her—the very same thing that makes Ruby take the long way home every single time and that makes her hate Melba Jane more than anyone.

She’s resourceful. She’s feisty. She’s in for some big surprises. Oh, Miss Ruby Lavender—she will pull at your heart.

Simply one of the best family stories!

One of the best family stories ever! We've lisstened to this one several times. Great for family road trips!

Wonderful slice of life story

We have grown to love listening to Deborah Wiley - her other story Every Little Bird that Sings was equally a wonderful story about growing up in a small southern town. I'm not sure who liked this story more... myself or my 7 or 9 year old daughters! And simply excellent narration.

Stellar

Excellent, sweet story. Funny narration. My kids from 3-10 loved it, and so did I.

Childhood Favorite

I grew up on this book. Now I’m listening with my kids. As a Mississippian I adore the charm of the southern accents and humor. Judith Ivey does an amazing job putting this story to life with her voice. This story is important and beautiful for children. It allows them to see how change, tragedy and even bullying can be difficult, but also an opportunity to grow. Just as Ruby matures and learns how to love, forgive and move on, your child can learn how to deal with real issues. Love the depth and charm of Deborah Wile’s writing.

A great read for adolecents to young adults

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I highly recommend this lighthearted story that keeps you engaged until the end.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ruby is the star and my favorite character because she reminds me of myself at that age. Ruby and I both believe injustice is not to be tolerated, therefore, we are moved to action.

What about Judith Ivey’s performance did you like?

Ivey's performance was well paced and gives us a shining example of inflection and fluency for struggling readers to immulate.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This story made me laugh out loud, again and again, it's a fun read and even more fun as performed by Judith Ivey.

Any additional comments?

Love, Ruby Lavender does not take a lot of time to finish, I read the book in approx. two hours. Using Audible, tweens and teens can easily pause and pick-up where they left off, but I doubt they will stop listening until the very end.