Anna Collomore

“Love blinds you to everything. All the signs you should see, all the details you’d never normally miss—they give way to the only thing you really want to see: his face.”

The Synopsis
The Ruining by Anna Collomore is a Young Adult Psychological Fiction. Annie lives in Michigan with her low-income family—well, what remains of it. Annie applies for a live-in nanny position in California that provides a fresh start and opportunities she was not privy to in Michigan, such as attending university on the Cohen’s dime. The Cohen family (Libby and Walker Cohen) hire Annie, and she moves into their home in California. Libby Cohen appears to be the mother, sister, and friend that Annie never had. They bond over a previous traumatic experience of loss.

Annie attends college and babysits Zoe Cohen part-time. Since Annie lives with the Cohens, her off-time and work-time run together, and she has difficulty managing her time and priorities. Annies life and mental stability begin to unravel and cause her to question her sanity. Annie meets Owen—the Cohen's neighbor's dreamy muscular son. Annie and Owen build a relationship that ends up saving her life.

The Ruining explores themes of love, forgiveness, grief, coming-of-age, betrayal, and power.

“The girl isn’t like us. How stupid I’d been to think I could fit into their world.”

Thoughts on the Characters
Annie Phillips is the protagonist of The Ruining and the epitome of a damsel in distress; this girl is incapable of thinking or making a decision on her own. Annie is a shell of a character with little to no substance and, therefore, not very likable. For someone who has had a rough upbringing, she lacks maturity and independence creating an inconsistent flat character.

Libby Cohen is the gem of this story. Her manipulative and persuasive ways feel true to the character and her history. Her character is well-written. The novel could have been more interesting from her perspective, especially since she was a well-rounded character.
Zoe Cohen is true to her age in dialogue and actions. She is obsessed with Rockabye Baby and sings it often, so often it feels like it could be a lost plot thread.

Walker Cohan is nearly a pointless character in 90% of the book. His part to shine is in the last 30 pages, but in reality, it is a single page. His character provides information to Annie that assists in a plot shift. The information does not do much since Owen is the one that drives the ending home.

Owen finishes the novel as the hero and could have convinced Annie of the truth without Walker, cause, of course, she is still incapable of thinking for herself. It feels like his character exists to create tension and save the damsel.

Final Thoughts
The first 75 % of The Ruining builds up suspense and makes the reader contemplate if the protagonist is going crazy or if Libby is doing things to drive her crazy. Annie suffers heavily from "Annie versus nanny" or "person versus position." Annie tries to balance work, school, and life while adjusting to adulthood.

Reading this novel is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. The Ruining is filled with cringe-worthy hints of something being amiss. Annie has unwavering loyalty and is incapable of thinking complex thoughts. She takes everything at surface value and makes decisions based on others’ opinions and how they make her feel. Annie is easily swayed and leads her life without a backbone. In the end, it is Owen that is the hero. Annie is not a character but a shell constantly guided by the opinions and manipulation of others.… (more)

The premise of this book was so promising: troubled teen gets the opportunity to leave her past behind by moving across the country from Detroit to San Francisco and becoming a live-in nanny to the young, attractive, and rich Cohen family. Getting new clothes, a new love interest, and a fresh start in college seems almost too good to be true for Annie, and of course it is. Strange things start to happen and we soon see that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the Cohens. With comparisons to Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” I was expecting chilling suspense. However, the plot was so predictable and Annie was so desperately naïve, it was difficult to force myself to stay with it until the end.… (more)

I LOVED this book. It sucked me in from the beginning and didn't let go until the very end.

The book followed Annie, a young girl with a troubled past looking for a fresh start in life. She finds this by becoming an au pair for Libby and Walker Cohen in an upscale neighbourhood in San Francisco. By taking this on, it will allow her to live with them while attending college in exchange for watching their 2 children Zoe and Jackson part-time. But it's the old saying....if it seems to good to be true, then it probably is.

With frequent references and parallels to "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the book takes us on a disturbing journey as Libby appears to slowly drive Annie mad. At times I wanted to scream, punch a hole in the wall....how can this happen? Why can't she see what's going on? This Libby woman is crazy!

Is it "Annie" or "Nanny" or both? The mind games are infuriating....but in SUCH a good way. I felt like I was heading to the asylum right along with Annie. Or Nanny. Gah!!!

And just when you thought the entire book was full of maddness, there is a mystery woven through it all waiting to be unraveled.

The only issue I had with this book was the rather rushed ending. I felt a little more time could have made the conclusion even better. I wanted revenge.

A wonderful debut from Anna Collomore that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good book that questions what is in fact real, and what is not.… (more)