Saving Ruby King

Catherine Adel West

Park Row Books, 2020 - FICTION - 320 pages

Set in the South Side of Chicago, an epic, enthralling story of a young woman determined to protect her best friend while a long-buried secret threatens to unravel both their families.

Family. Faith. Secrets. Everything in this world comes full circle.

When Ruby King's mother is found murdered in their home in Chicago's South Side, the police dismiss it as another act of violence in a black neighborhood. But for Ruby, it means she'll be living alone with her violent father. The only person who understands the gravity of her situation is Ruby's best friend, Layla. Their closeness is tested when Layla's father, the pastor of their church, demands that Layla stay away. But what are his true motives? And what is the price for turning a blind eye?

In a relentless quest to save Ruby, Layla comes to discover the murky loyalties and dark secrets tying their families together for three generations. A crucial pilgrimage through the racially divided landscape of Chicago, Saving Ruby King traces the way trauma is passed down through generations and the ways in which communities can come together to create sanctuary.

Saving Ruby King is an emotional and revelatory story of race, family secrets, faith and redemption. This is an unforgettable debut novel from an exciting new voice in fiction and a powerful testament that history doesn't determine the present, and that the bonds of friendship can forever shape the future.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - gpangel - LibraryThing

Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West is a 2020 Park Row publication. Friendship, family, the church, and murder all converge with a reckoning with the past… This debut novel is set in the south ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - bookczuk - LibraryThing

Summer/ pandemic read. I'm trying to read more black and BIPOC authors. This book was excellent in opening my eyes to another part of this works, as well as breaking my heart for the same reason.

About the author

Catherine Adel West was born and raised in Chicago, where she currently resides. She graduated with both her bachelor's and master's of science in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her work is published in Black Fox Literary Magazine, Five2One, and Better Than Starbucks, among many others. She is the author of Saving Ruby King and The Two Lives of Sara is her sophomore novel.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Saving Ruby King
• Author: Catherine Adel West
• Publisher: Park Row Books, 2020
• ISBN: 0778305090, 9780778305095
• Length: 320 pages
• Subjects: FICTION / Literary; Fiction / African American & Black / Urban & Street Lit; Fiction / Cultural Heritage; Fiction / Family Life / General