Way Down Deep - Hardcover

White, Ruth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374382514 ISBN 13: 9780374382513

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2007

Synopsis

Although Ruby seemed to just appear out of thin air on the steps of the courthouse on the first day of summer in 1944, no one in Way Down Deep, West Virginia, ever worried too much about where the toddler came from. They figured that if Ruby's people were dumb enough to lose something as valuable as a child, then that was their problem. So even though Ruby can't help but wonder where she came from, she has led a joyful and carefree life in Way Down Deep, loved and watched over by Miss Arbutus - proprietor of The Roost, the local boardinghouse - the residents of The Roost, and the rest of the town. But when Ruby is twelve, a new family moves to Way Down Deep, and they inadvertently provide enough clues about Ruby's past that she is able to find her own people. Ruby travels from Way Down Deep to the top of Yonder Mountain to learn who she really is - only to find that she is bound to Way Down Deep by something even stronger than family ties: love.

With a touch of fairy-tale magic and a lot of heart, Ruth White explores just what it is that makes a place truly home.

Way Down Deep is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

About this title

About the Author

RUTH WHITE is the author of many award-winning books for children and young adults, including the Newbery Honor Book Belle Prater's Boy and its sequel, The Search for Belle Prater. She lives in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania.

From the Inside Flap

"Both fable and mystery, Way Down Deep is simply irresistible, as plucky orphan Ruby June searches for the secret of her past, deeply entwined with an entire community worthy of Dickens. Funny, sweet, and filled with the heart's own truths, this is the best book yet from the queen of Appalachian storytelling."
--Lee Smith, author of On Agate Hill and Fair and Tender Ladies

Reviews

Grade 4–7—In the summer of 1944, a red-headed, curly-haired toddler mysteriously appeared on the courthouse steps in Way Down Deep, WV. No trace of how she got there or to whom she belonged was ever found. For 10 years Ruby June has lived a happy, comfortable life, well loved and cared for by Miss Arbutus Ward, owner of the local boardinghouse. The arrival of a new family in town sets in motion the unraveling of Ruby's past and the mystery of her appearance. In the process, readers are introduced to a colorful cast of characters who not only add to the rich Appalachian tone of the novel, but also lace it together with sweet humor, timeless truths, and expert foreshadowing. At first thought to be the senile ramblings of Mr. Bird Reeder, a former resident of Yonder Mountain, VA, bits of information lead Ruby to discover that she might be the child thought to have been carried off by a panther years earlier. She learns of her parents' death when she was a baby, that she has family living on top of the mountain, and of her mystical connections to Miss Ward. Captivating and thoughtful on many levels, White's novel offers humor, mystery, and a feel-good ending that a multitude of readers will find satisfying "way down deep."—D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

*Starred Review* On the first day of summer in 1944, a red-haired toddler appears on the courtroom steps in Way Down Deep, West Virginia. Nobody knows who she is or how she got there. But Miss Arbus, the owner of the boardinghouse, swoops down and brings her home, and the rest of the town takes her to its collective bosom. Then, when Ruby turns 12, a desperate man tries to rob the bank. Way Down Deep takes in the poor soul and his family as well, not knowing that the newcomers are the key to Ruby's past. White, the author of Belle Prater's Boy (1996), Newbery Honor Book, returns to Appalachia for a story as tender as a breeze and as sharp as a tack. In leisurely fashion, she introduces a cavalcade of idiosyncratic characters who go in and out of Ruby's life--among them, Mrs. Rife, a 90-year-old who throws rocks at the kids, and Reese, who serenades Ruby with lines such as, "Now if you were a horsefly, and I'm an old grey mare, / I'd stand and let you bite me and never move a hair." White dabbles in magic realism here (the explanation of how Ruby came to town will vex some and delight others), but at the heart of the story are profound questions that readers will enjoy puzzling out: Who makes up a family? And what do you owe them? Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0374382514
• ISBN 13: 9780374382513
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208