My Search for Ruth

by Anna Clarke

A young girl, mysteriously orphaned, sets out to learn the truth about her identity and despite the attempts of everyone around her to surpress the truth, discovers the terror, murder, and passion that are her legacy

Genres: Mystery

Paperback

Published January 1, 1989

About the author

Anna Clarke was born in Cape Town and educated in Montreal and Oxford. She holds degrees in economics and English literature and has held a wide variety of jobs, mostly in publishing and university administration.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really want to read this book again, because it blew me away as a fifth-grader. I don't remember much of the story, except that the girl was searching for her mother and encountered a few very interesting characters along the way. What I remember clearly, though, is the scene depicted on the cover featured on this site: the girl goes into the boat house, sits against the wall, and says "Memory, do your worst," or something along those lines.

[Ruth E. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so great. I've had this book for years and read it before, but couldn't remember anything about it. I think I know why. The protagonist is so annoying and negative, even when she is a child. She can be kind, but is often mean and seems overly preoccupied with her past. She comes to blame her guardian and accuse her of things that just don't make sense.

[Mazzou B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked up this book for free somewhere. It was okay; not as gruesome or troublesome as you'd expect. Not much of a powerful message though. It was touching and helped to understand children in that predicament but nothing life-changing.