I have been craving more and more books about archaeologists and Us in Ruins fits the bill. This YA book has a splash of the fantastical and is for anyone who has ever bucked against this idea of scientists who also love lipstick. Keep reading this book review of Us in Ruins for my full thoughts.
Summary
The mythical Vase of Venus Aurelia hasn’t been seen since 1932, but Margot Rhodes is determined to change that.
Drawn by the vase’s supposed magical properties, Margot embarks on her school’s archaeological trip to Pompeii. Sure, it’s her first time holding a shovel, but she’s got something no one else does: lost teenage explorer Van Keane’s journal.
Poring over the poetic entries that serve as a map to the vase’s missing shards, Margot finds herself falling in love with the boy who wrote it a century ago. She’s shocked when her search leads her to a statue that looks exactly like Van, and then the statue comes to life.
Catapulted into the present, Van is nothing like the wordsmith Margot imagined. He’s all sharp edges, intent on retrieving the relic for all the wrong reasons. But it takes two to survive Venus’s death-defying challenges, and, together, Margot and Van must excavate the treasure—and their buried pasts—before their story ends in ruins.
Review
I loved Margot from the beginning. She’s passionate, determined, and clever. While many question her motivations, her choice of lipstick, and her talent, she has a dream and follows it. There’s a degree to her brand of determination, but you can’t help but admire her. We can have lipstick and archaeology. There’s something about a character who everyone discounts, who needs to believe even more in herself that I adore. And Us in Ruins goes on to deliver a story full of adventure and the passion for discovery.
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If you love movies and books about trials and riddles in archaeology. Who want stories not only of unearthing mysteries, but also hidden to the world beneath a veneer of magic – this is for you! Not only that, but Margot’s character gains new depths as we find out that she’s so scared of admitting failure, that she made a mistake. Beneath her bravado, she hides this soft and emotional side where she’s so scared to think of herself as worthless. It has a Legally Blonde vibe to Us in Ruins. I’d definitely read more of Margot’s adventures!
Find Us in Ruins on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.