Critical Praise

"In her debut novel, Pruett writes evocatively, even poetically, of the South, fully drawing characters whose varied points of view are presented in chapters bearing their names.  Her amusing descriptions offer lovely surprises and good reading. . . . Highly recommended for all fiction collections."

——Library Journal

"Snappy, smart writing, and memorable characters distinguish Pruett’s debut."

——Kristine Huntley, Booklist

"A sensuous, humorous, heart-breaking and uplifting look at life in a small Alabama town. . . . [Ruby River] evokes the physical and spiritual heat of the South, with passions rising amidst gossip and religious hypocrisy."

——Dawn Mosher, The New Haven Advocate

"A Southern story told by a Southern writer who must have spent some very hot days in some small Southern towns.  Lynn Pruett knows her territory."

——Rodney Barfield, Roanoke Times

"Lynn Pruett is a wonderful storyteller. Limitations of money, education, and mobility confront her characters, but their toughness, humor, and sexuality give them choices, complexity, and fire that make us care deeply about them. She renders tough economic and political realities while keeping the heart fully engaged. Lynn Pruett is a hell of a writer and Ruby River is a beautiful novel."

——Tim Parrish, author of Red Stick Men

"Lynn Pruett's novel is funny, smart, sexy, and full of heart. She understands small towns and small-town people, but she never condescends to her lively and engaging characters."

——Lee Smith, author of Fair and Tender Ladies and Saving Grace

"Ruby River is gorgeously written and its changing points of view are enlivened by the author’s nonjudgmental empathy with her diverse characters and leavened by her humor, embedded within a serious tale about character and morality."

——Martin Northway, St. Louis Post-Dispatch