Ruby in the Rough by Emily Shore

Genre: Dystopian
Rating 5/5

Ruby has been living in the ghetto for four years - she has learned to avoid the gangs and sweepers who would jump at the chance to capture her and sell her. Known to her enemies as the "Ghetto Fox," she has evaded capture for years and longs to escape the hellhole she is living in. During the events that transpire in this book, Ruby confronts gang leaders and other ghetto leaders and she is faced with tough decisions about who she can trust.

This book was exciting and interesting! Ruby is a strong character who was easy to root for. She had been through some hard times in her life and I really just wanted her to have peace. I was glad that she had a friend, Ink, who she could trust and depend on.
It was never mentioned exactly which city they were in but it was written in such a way that it could have been almost anywhere in the US if there was a catastrophe or some major social upheaval. I think that is what makes this book compelling - this type of situation and societal structure (gang rule) could happen almost anywhere (even my own town!) if the circumstances were right. The way that people were treated, especially women, was heartbreaking. And I understand that it really IS like this in some parts of the world. Although this is a work of fiction, it opens your eyes to the fact that things like this do happen in real life. Human trafficking is a real thing. I LOVE that the author donates a portion of the proceeds of this book to organizations that fight human trafficking.

I would highly recommend this book - it is quite short (something you could read in one sitting). And I hear that there is another book in the series coming out soon ;-)

Grammar/Editing: Abysmal/Poor/Needs Work/Good/Excellent - The grammar and editing was really very good. There were not a lot of noticeable issues that were distracting. Always nice!

Violence: None/Mild/Medium/Heavy/Extreme- Since the ghetto is ruled by gangs, there is a lot of implied violence as well as some images that could be disturbing to some people. A decapitated head on a pike is mentioned. The violence is mostly implied though, rather than explicitly described. A few people get shot with guns. And then of course, there is the issue of human trafficking - women being sold for sexual and other purposes. Again, this is mostly just implied rather than described in detail.

Profanity: None/Mild/Medium/Heavy/Extreme - The language in this book is very mild. A few curse words here and there but nothing excessive.

Sexuality: None/Mild/Medium/Heavy/Extreme - Despite the fact that this book is largely about women being sold for sexual purposes, there are no explicit sex scenes. It is heavily implied that women ARE in fact basically prostituted at the hotel and in the gangs. There is a section of the book that talks about a man posing for pictures with a naked passed out woman and other scenes where sexual things are happening. (Hence, the medium rating).

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