Play Me Laura Ruby

Play Me by Laura Ruby I wasn't expecting what I got but I really enjoyed it. By the look of the cover (more on the cover later) I thought it was girl only type read but I was completely wrong. 17 yr old Eddie likes to date alot and the only thing he likes more is filmmaking. He is a member of the Jumping FrenchMan film production with his friends Rory and Joe. The book opens with Jumping FrenchMan shooting a scene. I liked the beginning, sometimes I like to thrown into a novel, seeing everything though the narrators eyes. The scene gets interrupted when Gina the only female cast member (and star) goes off on Eddie. The two had recently slept together and Eddie was flirting with a groupie. I thought this was a great moment in the book. Ruby writes a great guy. The aftermath of Gina going off

"What is up with this? I just stand there, staring at her watching her cry and laugh at the same time, wishing I could maybe hug her or something but I know I can't touch her. Groupie pipes up "Maybe you should go chill Gina" Gina shoots her a glare that could kill. I except to see Groupie's guts fall out of her body then and there, a big steaming pile of intestines all over the garage floor. Gina's expression goes from murderous to amused in under three seconds. She does that thing, where girls look each other up and down. So Gina does the up and down thing to the groupie and smiles this schizo little smile. Then she looks back at me. "Someday some girl will rip your heart out and stomp on it. I hope I'm there to see it

Such a girl walks into Eddie's life, her name is Lucinda. Eddie works hard to impress Lucinda and somehow finds himself in a relationship. I liked Lucinda and wished we could have learned more about who she was and why. Play Me doesn't narrow its focus with this storyline. The Jumping Frenchman are trying to win an MTV contest and things aren't as cohesive as they once were. Eddie is coping with a mom who left to be a Hollywood star. He has a younger half brother Marty (Meatball) who is always playing dead. Ruby does an excellent job of making everything work.

As great as I thought Play Me was I don't think the cover fit the book. This would be a great book for girls and guys. I will have a hard time selling this cover to guys. Teenagers prefer to choose their own books, the best I can do is make recommendations. I doubt that they listen to half of what I say, its the cover helps sway them either way.