Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea

Twelve-year-old Florine Gilham lives in a fishing village on the coast of Maine with her parents in what would appear to be an idyllic situation – on the waters in a harbour, where she and her friends run wild in the nearby pine woods and along the rocky shores. But in August of 1963, Carlie, Florine’s mother, disappears without a trace, and Florine and her grief-stricken father must move on with their lives, even as the mystery of what might have happened plagues them.

Both nurtured and hindered by those she has always known, Florine must find her way to young adulthood while clinging to the hope that her mother will return and her life, as she knew it, will continue. Written in the voice of a feisty young heroine and filled with the dry wit that people on the coast of Maine are famous for, Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea is an amazing debut novel written by native Morgan Callan Rogers.

Praise for Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea:

‘Florine and Red Ruby Heart will captivate you. I loved this book.’

Favel Parrett

‘Deeply moving … Callan Rogers writes with a superb sense of place and period, delving deftly into true-to-life responses to unexplained loss … A realistic and resonant coming-of-age novel.’

Kirkus Reviews

‘Rich in landscape and character, with regional dialect and phrases that will tip many mouths into grins.’

Booklist

‘Refreshing … A piercingly knowing portrait of the complicated thoughts and actions of a maturing teenage girl…with a one-of-a-kind setting and dialect straight from the shore.’

Portland Monthly

‘A beautiful book, set in the 1960s, with a mystery at its core and a flawed and feisty heroine roaring from every page…An accomplished debut, poignant and genuine…I loved it.’

Beatties Blog

‘A bewitching read…a sweet coming-of-age story. I devoured it in one sitting.’

Sunday Star Times (NZ)

‘Rogers has written an engaging and character- driven coming-of-age stories in an authentic young voice. It’s deservedly popular.’

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