The Ruby Locket by Melissa Wray [book review]

About The Ruby Locket:

The Ruby Locket is a young adult dystopian novel by Melissa Wray. It was published by Odyssey books back in October 2020. This book follows both Saxon and Kerina. Saxon was in the outskirts of his town with his older brother when they find Kerina. They originally thought she was dead and Saxon’s brother wanted to leave her there. Bringing strangers into their town is a big no-no because people rarely travel anymore and when they do people get suspicious. So, when they bring her to their home they start to worry about others finding out that she’s there.

When Kerina does wake up she can’t remember anything about her past except for her name. Thankfully Saxon’s family helps her out and finds someone that can help her remember all that she’s forgotten. At first, she doesn’t think it will work but she eventually does start getting some memories back piece by piece. With her memories coming back she starts to realize how important she is. Will those who are important find her? Or will she be able to stay pretty well hidden?

What I thought:

I was able to finish The Ruby Locket in two days because of how much I enjoyed it! I love a good dystopian novel even if it kind of mirrors how the world is right now. The two main characters are strong, independent, and willing to do whatever it takes to save each other. That’s partly why I like dystopian novels so much! I’m not a very strong or independent person so I have a tendency to like reading characters who are this way. It kind of inspires me to be like the characters since I’ve always wanted to be more independent but found it hard to really push myself to be that way. These types of books always make me want to strive to be a bit more adventurous.

What I wish was added to The Ruby Locket

I do have to admit that I kind of wish there was more world-building with this book. You’re pretty much thrown right in which is okay but you’re given little to no information about how this world came about. We get some information about how Kerina is the way that she is but that’s all of the backgrounds that we get. Are others like her hiding? Are there any other people out there that are like her? Why exactly are they scared of her? I don’t recall her being super strong or anything, so is she extremely hard to kill? Getting more of a background on her and others like her would have made the story two times better even though the book is already pretty good!

The few abilities that we learn about don’t exactly seem all that threatening. So, is the government out for their heads just because they are different and they have certain abilities?

I know I’m being pretty vague about what Kerina and others can do, but I don’t want to give a lot away. It’s best to learn what they can do as you read the story. Plus you learn about certain things along with Kerina and the others.

What I enjoyed about The Ruby Locket

If you’re looking for a list of dystopian novels to read I would suggest checking out my list of YA dystopian novels that you should read!

The Ruby Locket is such a quick read and that’s one thing I ended up enjoying. The book is 300 pages and normally I don’t consider that a “quick read”, but I know there are other readers who do. It really varies from book to book on how quickly I’m able to finish them kind of like if the book is fast-paced and the characters are somewhat likable. There have been times when a 300-page book took me nearly a week to read. The fact that this only took me a couple of days really lets you know how fast-paced the book really is.

A book that is typically dragged out and could have been finished pages ago is the type of book that takes me a while to read. Or they are ones I end up not finishing. This novel doesn’t drag at all, so Melissa does a great job with pacing the book and making you want to find out what’s going to happen.

Kerina and Saxon are really great characters. Both of them are versatile and are realistic. On top of that, both of them are likable and are someone you can see yourself being friends with. There are a lot of books with multiple points of view that I really don’t like. In a lot of other books, the characters tend to blend in with one another and I end up forgetting whose point I’m reading from. But that doesn’t happen with this book! Their qualities and personalities both jump off the page and don’t meddle with one another.

Despite the few things that I wish were added to this story I did really enjoy the plot. The storyline makes you hate this type of world where doctors are pretty much the ones who created what you are and yet you’re the one that’s hated and the one that everyone wants to get rid of. It sucks that the ones who had no say so in the matter are the ones who are hated. This makes me want to root for the main character and hope that they succeed! Otherwise, what’s the point of the book?

Make sure to check this book out if you haven’t already! I highly recommend this book if you enjoy dystopian novels!

Make sure to check out my book review of The Grace Year if you like dystopian novels.