Ruthie
Angie Gibson
Independently Published, 2025
Ebook, 128 ppg.
ISBN-13: 979-8311772297
A group of 12-year-old friends know about a missing 6-year-old girl named Ruthie in their area, but when they find Ruthie, they at first find her as what appears to be a body. Frightened out of their wits, they run away screaming, but when they return, the child is sitting up and is alert. What’s going on here? Didn’t they just see her as a body not too long ago? Nevertheless, they befriend Ruthie, thinking she was just left there, and they decide to help her bring her abductor to justice. Then strange things start happening with Ruthie. The group of friends – four boys named Jalen, Pedro, Dylan and Dakota – are not really sure what’s happening, only that Ruthie needs their help! But are they willing to hang in there until the very end, despite all of the strange things that keep happening with their young friend?
I really enjoyed reading Ruthie by Angie Gibson! It may be a story for kids, but it definitely held my interest! I loved seeing how the four friends were trying to figure out if Ruthie was alive or not, and if not, then what was she, exactly? Was she a zombie? One of them asks the others if they think so. Nah, one of the boys say. “Zombies aren’t real.” Maybe so, but Ruthie sure does show interesting signs of being a zombie – like how she is slowly falling apart and smells pretty much like death!
I also liked seeing how the friends relate to each other. Even when one of them is freaking out over Ruthie’s strange behavior and is convinced they need grown-up help, they rally together to help this friend. It’s definitely a scary situation for a kid to be in, but they keep their heads in the right place and stay grounded when they work through everything happening together.
This story was scary, mysterious and full of suspense. It kept me guessing at every turn. I was surprised over the new things happening as the story unfolded, and I worried that something bad was going to happen to one of the boys before they could bring the person who hurt Ruthie to justice.
As a person familiar with ghosts, and as someone who has read many ghost stories (both real and fictional), I was really intrigued by the “ghostly” aspect of this story. It’s hard to see the character Ruthie as a ghost, since she eats the same food as the other kids, but there are some parts of her existence that is ghostly. So I pretty much saw her as a ghost in the story. That said, I also recognized her as a child that had been murdered. For the longest time, as I read this story, I tried to ignore the brutality of a child of only six being murdered. I tried not to let it get to me. But when I got to the part where Ruthie says “I miss my friends and my dollies” that was when the waterworks broke. That made me so sad. I have seen similar statements by child ghosts in stories, even though Ruthie is not a ghost in this story. So, yeah, that hit hard.
And as a parent, I was thoughtful over the boys’ actions, as well as the mother who was dealing with the pain of her missing child.
Ruthie is a story with very scary moments, but it is also a very moving story of making right what was made wrong. Themes of vengeance, loss, and friendship are very strong in this story, possibly themes which young readers 12 and up could relate to. It’s a spooky story that is both entertaining as well as chilling. Ruthie is the kind of story that stayed with me long after I read the very last page, and even though it had a very satisfying ending, I could only wonder if there was the chance our young ghoul may once again rise from the grave, hungry for more blood and revenge!
Five stars.
Disclaimer: I downloaded this book through my subscription with Kindle Unlimited.
Ruthie by Angie Gibson is available both as a Kindle ebook and for free through Kindle Unlimited.
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