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Informationen zum Autor J.C. Cervantes is a New York Times bestselling author of books for children and young adults. Her books have appeared on national lists, including the ABA New Voices, B&N's Best Young Reader Books, and Amazon’s Best Books of the Month. She has earned multiple awards and recognitions, including the New Mexico Book Award and the Zia Book Award. She currently resides in the Land of Enchantment with her family, three spoiled dogs, and a lifetime collection of books. When she isn’t writing, she is haunting bookstores and searching for magic in all corners of the world. Klappentext Reeling from the death of her best friend and soulmate, Hart, Ruby struggles to move on until she meets Jameson, who unbeknownst to her is actually Hart's soul in the body of the local bad boy. Leseprobe One Hart ~ Twenty-five hours before the end ~ It's always been Ruby. That's the first line of this "assigned" love letter, and it's all it takes to get the juices flowing and put me in the zone. From the first time I saw her eleven years ago at the local garden center, freeing some ladybugs from their netted prison. There she was, six years old, a mere fifteen feet from me, ripping open the small nets. She had this fierce expression on her face, lips pressed together, dark eyes blazing with determination. And just like that, I was sucked into her orbit. Even at the ripe old age of seven, I knew she was uncommon. I still remember how my heart lurched, screaming at me to go over and help her, to be her partner in crime: Take a risk! But I'm not built that way, never have been. Risks lead to injury and injury leads to pain and pain leads to misery. See the problem? Besides, I was seven and the thought of landing in Dick's Garden jail sounded like the worst kind of misery. So I hung back with my eyes glued to her, like she was some story and I needed to see how it ended. Some of the ladybugs were smart enough to take flight; others crawled over the netting, and the rest? They landed on Ruby's arms and hands. She just stood there, smiling, observing them with this kind of awe that I wished everyone in their life could experience even once. Most people would have fled the scene of the crime, but not Ruby. See, Ruby's a study in daredevilry. She didn't care if she got caught. All that mattered to her was setting those damn ladybugs free. A wedge of sunlight spilled onto Ruby's golden-brown tangled hair. She looked up. Her eyes met mine. My face burned with the heat of someone doing something wrong. "Are you a good liar?" she asked. I quickly spun away, knocking a tiny pot of mint off the shelf. I shrugged, feeling lost in my own skin. "Uh, not really." She marched over with so much purpose, I thought maybe I should run, but she was already standing right in front of me. The ladybugs still clinging to her. "Well, you have to be," she insisted as she picked up the mint pot and put it back in its place. "If anyone asks, I wasn't here. You don't know me." "But . . . I don't know you." Just then her mom called to her. "I gotta go," Ruby said with a smile that showed off a missing front tooth. "Don't forget." She mimed something with her hands that I took to mean, You never saw me. And then she was gone. And I was left standing next to some wilting basil, wondering what had just happened. As I walked back to meet my dad near the Mexican palms, I felt a tickle on the back of my hand. I looked down. One of Ruby's ladybugs skittered across my skin. Bright red with four black dots, its wings opening and closing, closing and opening. And then it took flight. Yeah, so like I said, it's always been Ruby. Now I look down at the legal pad on my bed, worried as hell that the words won't be good enough. There's tons more slashing I've got to do, but at least...
