CANR
WORK TITLE: Ordinary Love
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.marierutkoski.com/
CITY: New York
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: CANR 296
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born March 5, 1977, in Hinsdale, IL; married (husband an economics professor); children: Eliot.
EDUCATION:University of Iowa, B.A., 1999; Harvard University, M.A., 2003, Ph.D., 2006.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and educator. University of London, London, England, Institute of Historical Research fellow, 2005-06; Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, lecturer, beginning 2006; Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, assistant professor of English, beginning 2007. Speaker at conferences and seminars; has also worked as a stripper.
AWARDS:Mellon interdisciplinary research grant, 2003; Dexter traveling fellowship, 2003; Derek Bok Award for Distinction in Teaching 2003, 2006; Frank Knox memorial fellowship, 2005; Winthrop Sargent Prize, 2005, for essay on William Shakespeare’s work; Best Children’s Book of the Year selection, Bank Street College of Education, 2008, for The Cabinet of Wonders; Whiting Teaching Award, 2010.
WRITINGS
Contributor to Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900.
The Cabinet of Wonders was adapted as an audiobook, Macmillan Audio, 2008.
SIDELIGHTS
Marie Rutkoski’s interest in the Renaissance, her sojourn to Europe, and her mother’s struggle with blindness helped to inspire The Cabinet of Wonders, the first work in her “Kronos Chronicles” series of fantasy novels. A professor of English literature at Brooklyn College, where she specializes in Renaissance drama, creative writing, and children’s literature, Rutkoski wrote her debut novel shortly after completing her Ph.D. at Harvard University, and the book’s success has greatly affected the author. “For many, many years I thought that I would never be able to create something that could touch other people the way books have touched me,” she told Kate Pavao in Publishers Weekly. “There’s nothing better than having a lifelong dream come true.”
The oldest of four children, Rutkoski was raised in Bolingbrook, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. A born storyteller, she admitted on her home page that she told her siblings “an awful lot of lies” during their formative years, adding: “The best thing about being a writer is that now I can say that my lies were all in the name of literary creativity.” Rutkoski majored in English at the University of Iowa, and after graduation she lived briefly in Moscow, Russia, and Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Returning to the United States, she earned her doctorate at Harvard University and held dual appointments as a lecturer there before taking a position at Brooklyn College.
Rutkoski began writing The Cabinet of Wonders in 2006, after finishing her doctoral research on Renaissance Europe. The novel centers on Petra Kronos, the twelve-year-old daughter of an artisan named Mikal, a widower who possesses a magical ability to transform metal into wondrous objects. Mikal’s talents catch the attention of Prince Rodolfo, the ruler of Bohemia, and he is summoned to Prague to create a magnificent astrological clock. When Mikal returns, Petra learns that her father’s eyes have been removed by the prince, who plans to use them to further his own cruel ambitions. The courageous and defiant Petra vows to restore her father’s sight, and she journeys to Prague in the company of her metallic pet spider, Astrophil, to retrieve Mikal’s eyes.
Several of the plot elements in The Cabinet of Wonders are based on the author’s personal experiences. It was during her stay in Prague that Rutkoski first heard the eerie tale surrounding the town’s fabled astronomical clock: according to legend, the maker’s eyes were gouged out so he would never again create such a beautiful work. Also, Rutkoski’s mother suffered cataracts that often left her temporarily blind; in her novel, Rutkoski hoped to write “not just about the loss of a parent’s sight, and the lengths to which a daughter would go to restore it, but also about different ways of seeing, and different ways of being blind,” as she wrote on the Macmillan website.
In The Cabinet of Wonders, “Rutkoski makes good use of her bucolic Eastern European setting touched with magic,” as Anita L. Burkam observed in her Horn Book review, and Amanda Raklovits, writing in School Library Journal, commented that the work “is well paced and contains a number of intriguing characters.” According to Charity Taylor-Antal in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, “the presiding beauty of the novel is Rutkoski’s writing—a cacophony of elegance and ease—resplendent supporting characters, and the kind of simplicity an author writes hard for.”
Petra returns in The Celestial Globe, which continues Rutkoski’s “Kronos Chronicles.” Under attack from Prince Rodolfo’s assassins, the heroine is rescued by John Dee, a British spy who uses a “loophole” in time and space to transport her to London. While searching for Petra, her childhood friend Tomik is captured by pirates who seek a magical globe with limitless powers. Rutkoski’s “stellar sequel to The Cabinet of Wonders surpasses its predecessor,” a Publishers Weekly contributor stated, and School Library Journal reviewer Karen E. Brooks-Reese noted that The Celestial Globe “brings magic and mystery to life.”
The Jewel of the Kalderash, the series conclusion, follows Petra as she attempts to find a cure that will rescue her father from his fate as one of Prince Rodolfo’s mindless Gray Men. Fiala Broshek, who created the Gray Men, may hold the answer, and Petra and Tomik scour the kingdom in search of her. Neel is caught in battle in Roma, and as Rodolfo plans to take over the Hapsburg Empire, further war seems inevitable. The story, wrote Krista Hutley in Booklist, is “bittersweet yet hopeful, with an understated romance.” It is, she added, “a fitting finale.” A Kirkus Reviews critic offered a similar assessment, calling the book “thrilling, heartrending and unexpectedly sweet; Petra’s adventures could not have had a more satisfying conclusion.”
The Shadow Society, a departure from the “Kronos Chronicles,” follows sixteen-year-old Darcy Jones. The teen was left outside a firehouse when she was five, and she has no memory of anything that came before. Darcy has spent most of her life in foster homes in Chicago, but she is beginning to make friends. Then her crush, Conn McCrea, informs her that she is a Shade, a magical ghost-like creature. He takes her to an alternate reality of magical Chicago where Shades are terrorists.
Most reviewers commended the novel, though some took issue with the story’s conclusion. For instance, Elizabeth Norton in Voice of Youth Advocates complained that “the end of the book is particularly far-fetched, and Darcy’s foster mother is far too willing to accept her Shade identity.” Genevieve Gallagher, writing in School Library Journal, explained that “although the ending may be too perfect … it manages to bring the pieces of the story back together with unexpected and satisfying ease.” Online Cuddlebuggery contributor Adrienne Fray also disliked the ending, but she nevertheless declared that “Darcy’s character proved to be both interesting and relatable. … The paranormal elements were introduced at the right speed (not too fast so that I lost track of the way things worked, not too slow that the mysteries became frustrating). Not only did I find the Shades and alternate Chicago concept fascinating, the rules of the magic and the world were clear and straightforward, and sat naturally in the plot.” Offering praise in Publishers Weekly, a reviewer advised: “Filled with literary and artistic … the action-packed narrative poses thorny ethical questions.” Furthermore, a Kirkus Reviews columnist called The Shadow Society “entertaining and provocative,” explaining that “the author builds an engaging world, similar to the real Chicago but different enough to tantalize.”
Rutkoski begins the “Winner’s” young-adult fantasy trilogy with The Winner’s Curse and The Winner’s Crime. In the latter installment, series heroine Kestrel, the daughter of a Valorian general, becomes engaged to the emperor’s son, Verex. Kestrel, however, is in love with her former slave, Arin. Since he has been freed, Arin has become governor of Herran. Arin also has feelings for Kestrel, but he knows their love can never be realized. Then the tables turn, and the star-crossed lovers may have a chance after all. Commenting on her inspiration for The Winner’s Crime in an online Mary Sue interview, Rutkoski told Sam Maggs: “Kestrel and Arin are intelligent, passionate, and brave people. They are, in essence, equals. But in the context of their world they are not; one is in an extreme position of power over the other. She owns him. Then, when the slave rebellion happens, she becomes his prisoner. And while both the purchase of Arin and the taking of Kestrel prisoner were spurred by good intentions, the imbalance of power between them taints their relationship, and questions whether romance—or any good relationship—is even possible.”
While the author discussed romantic tensions, most critics focused on the cliffhanger ending, and a Kirkus Reviews contributor stated that Rutkoski “propels readers to the final devastating page, leaving only the excruciating wait for the sequel.” The contributor also called the novel “enthralling, agonizing and incandescent.” Echoing this sentiment on the Evie Bookish website, a reviewer advised: “If you’re in the mood for some heart bounding romance, page turning plot, and an ending to end all endings, you need The Winner’s Crime in your life. Simply put, it’s a wonderful adventure full on intrigue, lies, treachery, romance, and jaw-dropping twists.” On the other hand, a Book Wars website columnist complained: “The Winner’s Crime is a stronger novel than the first one in the trilogy. However, the cliffhanger at the end detracts from what could have been a satisfying installment to the series.” Barbara Johnston, writing in the Voice of Youth Advocates, was far more positive, asserting that “Rutkoski’s well-written prose is sumptuous.” She added: “Basically a romance with a side of war games, this novel concocts a potent chemistry between Kestrel and Arin.” Offering further applause in the London Guardian, a critic announced: “The Winner’s Crime took us deeper into the world of Valorian politics, the court, its abundant and excessive riches, and the games that are being played … Filled with loyalty, forbidden love, power and the powerful, friends and broken relationships, war, conquests and family, The Winner’s Trilogy should go to the top of your to read pile!”
(open new)The Midnight Lie is the start of a fantasy duology. The isolated settlement of Herrath is run under an oppressive caste system. Nirrim just accepted that that was the way life was until meeting traveler Sid, who showed her how to want for more. Both women form an odd friendship but acknowledge their secretive romance cannot last forever. Still, Sid’s appearance forces her to look at Herrath for what it really is and accept her own role in it.
Booklist contributor Cindy Welch claimed that “this is a treat for LGBTQ+ readers and the ending, happily, seems to indicate more to come.” A contributor to Publishers Weekly acknowledged that “charismatic characters and compelling chapter cliffhangers build intrigue throughout.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor posited that the novel is “lush, swoony, painful, enraging, and as cathartic as a good cry.”
The Hollow Heart concludes the duology, where Nirrim is now queen after trading her heart to the God of Thieves. This also led to the Half Kith of Ethin to regain their memories and reclaim their magic that was stolen by the High Kith rulers. Nirrim has lost her sweetness as she uses violence to get vengeance on those who wronged her. Sid is relegated to the sidelines offering commentary while dealing with her ill mother.
In an interview in Nerd Daily, Rutkoski admitted that writing this sequel posed unique problems for her. She confessed that she “had to remember not just what I wrote in The Midnight Lie but also everything in ‘The Winner’s Trilogy,’ since Sid is Kestrel and Arin’s child and has to navigate their difficult past. I’ll be honest, I initially wrote a scene featuring Kestrel’s father and had forgotten that his arm had been cut off at the elbow in The Winner’s Kiss. I had to go back and edit that in.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor insisted that “the elegant prose makes this a pleasurable read that will keep readers engrossed.” The same reviewer labelled the novel “a heart-wrenching, deftly executed end to this duology.”
Real Easy is Rutkoski’s first adult crime novel. Police detective Victor Amador finds the bloody body of a woman who had worked at the local strip club in a ditch. She had been drugged and had crown shape carved into one of her feet. Amador seeks help from colleague Holly Meylin, despite her trauma over her infant’s recent accidental death. The two discover that the killer is targeting women and pick up the pace of their investigation before he can kill even more people.
In an interview in the Los Angeles Public Library website, Rutkoski talked about how she prepared to write the novel by researching forensic pathology. She admitted: “I spoke with a forensic pathologist about how the bodies of murder victims are examined. The conversation reminded me of the TV show Bones. I learned things that were pretty disturbing. I would not have the stomach for a job like that.”
Booklist contributor Christine Tran commented that “Rutkoski’s writing is a pleasure here; she weaves well-calibrated suspense with gritty portrayals of dancers and detectives.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor mentioned that “this is a story about flawed people just doing the best they can to live their lives and find love. Vulnerable yet steely, this thriller rises above the rest.” A contributor to Publishers Weekly pointed out that the author is “especially good at making the strippers more than cliches.”
Ordinary Love is Rutkoski’s adult romance debut. Emily had convinced herself that her life with wealthy husband, Jack, was fine. However, his many dangerous faults come to the fore, leaving her with no choice but to back out of her marriage. She is worried over his reaction, though, and seeks help from Gen, her best friend from her high school years and first love. Gen became a playgirl Olympic athlete, a far cry from the friend Emily once knew. They rekindle their bond and look for ways to heal the wounds in their lives.
Rutkoski spoke with Jen Bryant in an interview in Mutha about the process of writing Ordinary Love. She recalled that “the development process happened over a period of six months, where I was beginning to see the shape of the story and beginning to write my way into it. I began with a kind of vague idea, and it was only after six months of considering how it could go that I really began writing.”
A Kirkus Reviews contributor called it “a sexy, bittersweet novel with characters that peel off the page.” The same critic suggested that, by the end of the novel, “readers will feel they know Emily and Gen backward and forward, and they will almost certainly miss spending time with them.” Booklist contributor Cari Dubiel said that the novel is “recommend to fans of complicated, emotional love stories.” A contributor to Publishers Weekly remarked that it “is a brutal yet beautiful story that captures what it means to genuinely support, cherish, and love another person.”(close new)
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, Krista Hutley, review of The Cabinet of Wonders, p. 61; October 15, 2011, Krista Hutley, review of The Jewel of the Kalderash, p. 47; February 1, 2014, Cindy Welch, review of The Winner’s Curse, p. 67; February 15, 2020, Cindy Welch, review of The Midnight Lie, p. 83; January 1, 2022, Christine Tran, review of Real Easy, p. 43; May 1, 2025, Cari Dubiel, review of Ordinary Love, p. 30.
Guardian (London, England), May 6, 2015, review of The Winner’s Crime.
Horn Book, January 1, 2009, Anita L. Burkam, review of The Cabinet of Wonders, p. 102; March 1, 2014, Deirdre F. Baker, review of The Winner’s Curse, p. 128.
Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, September 1, 2009, Charity Taylor-Antal, review of The Cabinet of Wonders, p. 82.
Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2008, review of The Cabinet of Wonders; September 1, 2011, review of The Jewel of the Kalderash; September 1, 2012, review of The Shadow Society; December 15, 2014, review of The Winner’s Crime; January 15, 2020, review of The Midnight Lie; September 1, 2021, review of The Hollow Heart; December 15, 2021, review of Real Easy; May 15, 2025, review of Ordinary Love.
Publishers Weekly, August 18, 2008, review of The Cabinet of Wonders, p. 63; December 22, 2008, Kate Pavao, “Fall Flying Starts,” p. 24; February 15, 2010, review of The Celestial Globe, p. 132; September 17, 2012, review of The Shadow Society, p. 57; January 6, 2014, review of The Winner’s Curse, p. 58; January 20, 2020, review of The Midnight Lie, p. 71; November 29, 2021, review of Real Easy, p. 39; April 21, 2025, review of Ordinary Love, p. 33.
School Librarian, March 22, 2015, Jodie Brooks, review of The Winner’s Curse, p. 58.
School Library Journal, October 1, 2008, Amanda Raklovits, review of The Cabinet of Wonders, p. 158; April 1, 2010, Karen E. Brooks-Reese, review of The Celestial Globe, p. 167; November 1, 2012, Genevieve Gallagher, review of The Shadow Society, p. 116; February 1, 2014, Chelsey Philpot, review of The Winner’s Curse, p. 114; June 1, 2014, Shanna Miles, review of The Winner’s Curse, p. 69.
Voice of Youth Advocates, December 1, 2012, Elizabeth Norton, review of The Shadow Society, p. 492; February 1, 2015, Barbara Johnston, review of The Winner’s Crime, p. 64.
ONLINE
Book Wars, https://thebookwars.wordpress.com/ (March 31, 2015), review of The Winner’s Crime.
Brooklyn College website, http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/ (August 5, 2013), “Marie Rutkoski.”
Cuddlebuggery, http://cuddlebuggery.com/ (January 9, 2013), Adrienne Fray, review of The Shadow Society.
Evie Bookish, http://evie-bookish.blogspot.com/ (February 25, 2015), review of The Winner’s Crime.
Harvard Online, http://harvardmagazine.com/ (January 1, 2009), Brittney Moraski, “Storytelling Scholar.”
Los Angeles Public Library website, https://www.lapl.org/ (January 20, 2022), author interview.
Marie Rutkoski website, http://www.marierutkoski.com (December 15, 2025).
Mary Sue, http://www.themarysue.com/ (March 5, 2015), Sam Maggs, author interview.
Mutha, https://www.muthamagazine.com/ (June 1, 2025), Jen Bryant, author interview.
Nerd Daily, https://thenerddaily.com/ (September 13, 2021), Nathalie DeFelice, author interview.
Shelf Awareness, https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ (October 15, 2021), “Marie Lu and Marie Rutkoski: Writing through the Pandemic.”
Marie grew up in Illinois as the eldest of four children and attended the University of Iowa. After living in Moscow and Prague, she went to Harvard University and received a Ph.D. in English Literature, specializing in Shakespeare.
On fellowship at the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London during her final year of graduate school, Marie had the idea for her first novel, The Cabinet of Wonders. Upon graduating, she taught in Harvard’s English Department and the History and Literature Department. She has been a professor of English at Brooklyn College since 2007.
Marie is a New York Times bestseller. Her work has been named, among other recognitions, as an Amazon Best Book of the Year, a Kirkus Best Teen Book of the Year, a Bank Street Book of the Year, a People Book of the Week, and she has been a finalist for several state awards, such as the Texas Bluebonnet Award. Her most recent novel, Real Easy, was a New York Times Best Crime Novel of 2022. Her short stories and essays have been published in places like The Harvard Review, Salon, and academic journals.
Marie lives in Brooklyn with her family. She is an avid rock climber and gardener. Her favorite things are flower catalogues and homemade ice cream.
Marie Rutkoski
USA flag (b.1977)
Marie Rutkoski grew up in Bolingbrook, Illinois, as the oldest of four children. In high school, she was a member of the Young Adult Advisory Board at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook. She later attended the University of Iowa, where she took Writers' Workshop classes and also studied with Pulitzer Prize-winner James Alan McPherson. After graduating, she lived in Moscow and Prague. Upon receiving her Ph.D. from Harvard University, she held dual appointments as a lecturer there in both English and American Literature and Language, and History and Literature. Marie is a professor of English literature at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Shakespeare, children's literature and creative writing. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons. Marie can tie a good double figure-eight knot and is very fond of perfume, tea and excellent bread and butter.
Genres: Young Adult Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Mystery
Series
Kronos Chronicles
1. The Cabinet of Wonders (2008)
2. The Celestial Globe (2010)
3. The Jewel of the Kalderash (2011)
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Winner's Trilogy
0.5. Bridge of Snow (2014)
1. The Winner's Curse (2014)
2. The Winner's Crime (2015)
3. The Winner's Kiss (2016)
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Midnight Lie
1. The Midnight Lie (2020)
2. The Hollow Heart (2021)
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Novels
The Shadow Society (2012)
Real Easy (2022)
Ordinary Love (2025)
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Series contributed to
Tor.Com Original
Jacks and Queens at the Green Mill (2012)
Bridge of Snow (2014)
Shelf Awareness for Readers for Friday, October 15, 2021
Marie Lu and Marie Rutkoski: Writing Through the Pandemic
Marie Lu is the author of the Legend series, the Young Elites trilogy, the Warcross series, Batman: Nightwalker and The Kingdom of Back. She lives in Los Angeles with her illustrator/author husband, Primo Gallanosa, and their son. Her most recent book is Steelstriker (Roaring Brook Press), the follow-up to Skyhunter.
Marie Rutkoski is the author of The Midnight Lie, The Shadow Society, the Kronos Chronicles and the Winner's Trilogy. She is a professor at Brooklyn College and lives in New York City. Hollow Heart, the conclusion to the Forgotten Gods duology, is out now from FSG.
Here they discuss writing during the pandemic and the social issues that push to the surface in their recently published books.
Marie Lu: Marie, my name twin, what has your experience been with launching and closing a series through the pandemic?
Marie Rutkoski: I would say that it's been a scary year for so many, and that I'm grateful to have been able to write, be with my family and stay in touch with my readers. So much has been exposed by the pandemic that was there all along: the troubling political dynamics of this country, a rise in antagonism between people who identify differently, the growing disparity between the haves and have nots. I think the issues we are seeing in the world are issues that both of us care about as writers and explore in our books. What about you?
Marie Lu (photo: Primo Gallanosa)
Lu: In some ways, I wrote Skyhunter as a direct reaction to what began in 2016 with our political system, and it has been a bit surreal to pour my frustrations and anger over our country into this series as the past four years culminated in 2020's chaos. As you said, we've both always written about the gap between the elite and the non-elite, and to see it play out with such stark clarity has truly been sobering. Did you find yourself changing your writing process during the pandemic?
Rutkoski: Yes! Something that is very clear in The Midnight Lie is that the main character, Nirrim, is vulnerable, goodhearted and brave, yet has been boxed in by a punishing and restrictive society's demands. In The Hollow Heart, she is empowered, has traded her heart to the god of thieves and is ready for revenge. As I was watching the pandemic unfold, and thinking about people quarantining on yachts or hiring modern-day governesses to teach their children, it was hard not to fold some of what I was seeing into the book, and to think about a really pertinent question, which is: When will this kind of disparity be too much to stand?
Marie Rutkoski (photo: Tobias Everke)
Skyhunter also portrays oppression and Talin is so courageous, even in the face of people who don't appreciate her courage. Could you tell me a little bit about what was important to you in the construction of her character in the context of the dark world you created?
Lu: Building Talin as a character has been a bit weird as I witness the double experience of going through the pandemic and being Asian American. Much of Talin's early character building extended from hearing Mr. Khizr Khan's speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention about his son Humayun Khan, a young Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq while protecting his fellow soldiers, and my thoughts on how so many young people of all marginalizations go off to war to protect us and then return to a country that doesn't give them the respect they deserve. So Talin is that: a soldier from a fallen land, defending a hostile new homeland. She took on a new layer for me as the pandemic continued and hostilities rose against the Asian American community. In the end, what mattered the most to me in creating Talin has remained the same: the desire to show that she leans on the good people around her in the face of so much awfulness. That there will always be evil in the world, but also that the world can be what we make of it.
Can you talk a little about building the world of The Midnight Lie?
Rutkoski: In The Winner's Kiss (the last book of the Winner's Trilogy), Arin has conversations with the god of death in his mind, and I liked creating uncertainty about whether he is truly talking with Death, as he believes, or whether this is the result of his trauma, as Kestrel believes. I began writing The Midnight Lie with this question: What if Arin was right? What if the gods are real? The world established in the Winner's Trilogy continues in the Forgotten Gods duology. But the world gains a new dimension, where we consider what adding magic or god-given abilities might do to the precarious political system already established in the earlier trilogy.
Can you tell us anything about what's to come in Steelstriker?
Lu: Steelstriker was my pandemic book, and thus probably the hardest book I've ever written in my life! I think it would always have been hard, though--in Skyhunter, Talin's life is difficult in many ways, but she is supported by her fellow Strikers and her mother. All that is stripped away from her in Steelstriker. There's a lot of her pain in this book--but also a lot more of her love. Writing love and romance does not come naturally to me, but I have a lot of fun doing it, and I'm excited to share all of that with readers.
Rutkoski: Is there anything you especially loved about writing Steelstriker? Or do you have a favorite moment with one of your readers?
Lu: One of my favorite scenes to write was a quiet one between Jeran and Red, two very different young men, as they had an earnest conversation about their love lives. And gosh, I have so many favorite memories of my readers... a father and daughter came to one of my Champion events once and wore matching custom sweatshirts, and the father's read "She is a Champion!" and it just warmed my whole heart. Every personal letter I've ever received from a reader is one I cherish.
How about you, Marie? And what's next for you?
Rutkoski: I feel the same way you do! So lucky. I wrote a middle-grade series before I began writing YA, and some of my favorite memories are seeing readers at events whom I've seen before, who were kids when I first met them. As for what's next, I have an adult novel called Real Easy that comes out in January 2022. It's a murder mystery set in 1999 in Illinois--think Mare of Easttown, but Midwestern. What about you?
Lu: For me, I have a new YA that I'm working on... I can't talk much about it yet, but this was the story that germinated during the pandemic when I truly wanted to escape. I hope I get to talk a bit more about it someday soon!
Ordinary Love: An Interview with Marie Rutkoski
There’s a reason that stories about first love are so compelling. Whether sweeping and passionate, halting and unsure, or marked by secret longing, that first rush of emotion can be intoxicating and all-consuming. First love – and the heartbreak that often follows – has a way of lodging itself deep inside of us, stirring strong memories for years to come.
In Marie Rutkoski’s compelling new novel Ordinary Love (Knopf, June 2025), teenage protagonist Emily’s deep feelings for her best-friend-turned-first-love Gen are complicated by living in rural Ohio, in a place and time where queer relationships aren’t commonplace or accepted. As they navigate early adulthood, their relationship unravels, and they lose touch. Decades later, as Emily begins to extricate herself from an emotionally abusive marriage, Gen resurfaces in her life. When the two women realize that the intensity of their love for each other hasn’t faded, Emily is faced with a choice: who does she want to be, and what is she willing to risk for love?
Ordinary Love is a story of self-discovery, second chances, and the bravery that it takes to find a path back to a self that was lost long ago. In vivid, evocative prose, Rutkoski explores the idea that coming of age is a continual process and that the best love stories – the kind that endure, that grip us when we’re young and refuse to let go – are anything but ordinary. – Jen Bryant
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JEN BRYANT: You’ve previously written several YA books; Ordinary Love is geared towards adult readers. What similarities have you found in writing for the two audiences? What’s different?
MARIE RUTKOSKI: Writing YA uniquely prepared me to write this book. There’s a long section that takes place during Emily’s adolescence – we see her briefly when she’s ten, and then there’s a longer section where she’s a senior in high school and falls in love with Gen. Writing for younger readers made those sections flow easily, and they were really natural for me to write. I was in my element.
One of the things that differentiates young adult literature from adult literature is that we see characters really going through things for the first time. It’s the first time they’re really learning how to see themselves apart from their families, and what it’s like to fall in love for the first time, and these firsts are what make young adult literature so powerful. Something that I realized when I was writing Ordinary Love is that we talk about coming of age as if it’s something that happens once, in the moment that we transition from being a child to being a young adult – exiting childhood, entering young adulthood – but we are always coming of age, and adulthood is also marked by moments where we leave our past self behind and enter into a new sense of identity. We see that happening with Emily as she’s becoming a mother, leaving her marriage, and re-entering into a relationship with Gen, and also as she’s understanding more about her sexuality and her identity.
JB: How long did it take to develop the story and characters in Ordinary Love?
MR: The development process happened over a period of six months, where I was beginning to see the shape of the story and beginning to write my way into it. I began with a kind of vague idea, and it was only after six months of considering how it could go that I really began writing.
JB: Speaking of the characters, I was so fascinated by the contrasts between Emily’s relationships with Jack and with Gen. The relationship between Jack and Emily shows the insidious dynamics of control and the ways in which the unacceptable can slowly become commonplace. By contrast, while Emily and Gen sometimes disagreed, they always supported and cared deeply for one another. These individual relationship arcs are contrasts, but each one deeply influenced Emily’s character – her behaviors, decisions, and beliefs about herself.
MR: I do think of those relationships as contrasts. The relationships are starkly different, but they both helped Emily become who she was. I loved how you described the insidious nature of emotional abuse. One thing that was important to me in how I portrayed her relationship with Jack was to show just how easy and understandable it could be to fall for that, especially when it’s not so obvious. He’s not physically abusive, and he’s telling her all the time how much he loves her, and she really yearns for that kind of love because she’s been so lonely for most of her life and because her relationship with Gen as a young person ended up in such heartbreak.
Photo courtesy of Knopf.
And the costs are so high, right? In order for Emily to really admit that what Jack’s doing is unacceptable, that the way he’s treating her is not okay, would be very scary, because it would mean that she’d have to break apart her entire life and be entirely alone and become his enemy – and he’s already proven that you do not want to be his enemy. And so I think that very much does shape her, and it makes it seem to the reader that she’s all the more brave for leaving that relationship.
And I don’t think that Jack knows what he’s doing. I think he really thinks that he loves her, and that he’s making the best decisions, and that she can never value him the way he deserves to be valued.
JB: Emily felt unsupported in her writing during her marriage, with her husband often going to cruel lengths to suppress her talents because he felt threatened. What in your opinion is the relationship between mental/emotional freedom and creativity?
MR: It’s absolutely essential for creativity. Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own is problematic in some ways – she completely ignores the existence of women writers of color, for example, which is a big issue. I won’t go into all of her problems, but I will say something that feminists have long recognized is true, which is that she outlines the importance of being financially free and how that is essential for creativity. This is why she believes women writers have not really existed to the extent that they should have before her time – that there are not many writers she can point to as being truly great – because of hundreds of years of women not having the financial freedom to express themselves, or having, physically, a room of one’s own, where they don’t have to worry about housing or food or taking care of children, et cetera. But I think that implicit in her analysis of the importance of financial freedom is also the importance of emotional freedom and intellectual freedom. They go hand in hand. If you’re constantly subservient to men’s needs, as women had been for hundreds of years, you do not have emotional or intellectual freedom, and it is very difficult to be creative.
JB: The novel also touches on themes of social class, contrasting Emily and Gen’s working-class upbringings with Jack’s wealthier lifestyle. What made you decide to include class and money as major themes in this story?
MR: I’m always interested in class. I think that my education has led me to a very different place in life. It took me from the suburbs of Chicago to living and having a wonderful life in Brooklyn. I did my PhD at Harvard, and I remember arriving there and just being like, Whoa. This place is an intellectual utopia, but also, it’s so wealthy. Money is dripping from every blade of manicured grass on the lawn. I probably shouldn’t say this, but there were sometimes receptions in this one room in my department’s building, and I’d heard that the carpet cost millions of dollars. I knew somebody – another graduate student – who deliberately poured wine onto it, just out of rage, I think, at how much money Harvard had. But it’s also a complicated feeling, because it’s something that we also benefited from. Almost every graduate student at Harvard is there on some kind of full ride. I was able to attend Harvard because I didn’t have to pay tuition, and I received a stipend, and that was true for everybody in my department as a graduate student.
Marie Rutkoski. Photo by Beowulf Sheehan.
And now I’ve gotten very far away from your question, which was why I wrote about class. I suppose I wrote about it because it’s important to me, and I’m interested in writing about money because it’s important to everybody. Who’s going to deny that money is essential – how to get it, how to best use it? It’s something that defines our existence.
JB: I think it’s a lot easier to see the doors that money opens, and the ways in which it smooths certain things over, when you don’t grow up in that environment, and so you don’t have that automatic expectation.
MR: Emily thinks about that, too, early on in the book – I’m with this guy who has so much money, and I feel a little bit like maybe I shouldn’t be enjoying that he’s spending it on me, but then again, why wouldn’t I? Why wouldn’t you want a life that’s relieved of care, where you don’t have to worry about having to pay, where somebody makes that part of life easy and you’re allowed to enter into a kind of beautiful existence?
JB: Absolutely. And on the topic of beauty, it seems like Emily’s beauty opened some doors, too. She was very smart and accomplished and creative, but her beauty was the initial thing that caught Jack’s eye. I think that’s another thing we don’t really talk about a lot – the way that certain things can help you to almost transcend class, or allow for easier class mobility, and I think that beauty can be one of them.
MR: That’s absolutely right. And although Jack feels that he’s caught a prize, and he likes that Emily has a degree from Harvard, she doesn’t use that degree; instead, she becomes a wife and a mother. And there’s nothing wrong with being a stay-at-home mom – my mother was one, and many women make that choice for good reasons. But in the case of Jack and Emily, it really is a stifling of her identity, and she becomes only a beautiful object to him.
It’s interesting – I hadn’t really thought about this until you brought it up, but I don’t think that Gen ever really comments on Emily’s beauty. Emily is beautiful, but it’s not what Gen is focused on.
JB: Ordinary Love is full of unexpected moments. As the author, did anything surprise you during the process of creating this book?
MR: You only get maybe one chapter where you see Emily and Gen at ten years old, when they first meet in fifth grade. They’re not in the same class, but Emily sees Gen in the lunchroom, and it’s clear that Gen doesn’t even really have enough money to buy lunch. She’s using the small amount of change she has to buy skim milk, because it’s cheaper than whole milk, and she even opens up the package and is licking the inside because she’s so hungry. Emily sees this, and without explaining herself or really saying anything, she begins passing Gen peanut butter sandwiches she makes at home. And so you see how the beginning of their relationship is marked by care and by recognition – that Emily sees that Gen is not okay and wants to do something to help her. And similarly, Gen wants to find some way to repay Emily. She’s drawn to Emily and listening to her talk and hears that Emily likes flowers. And so Emily finds in her pocket one day this packet of marigold seeds. It’s a cheap thing – if you’re not buying milk because somebody’s bringing you peanut butter sandwiches every day, you could save enough to buy an 80-cent packet of seeds.
Photo by Julia Kwiek on Unsplash
I wasn’t planning for the marigold seeds to become so significant, but it ended up being a way to mark their relationship over the course of the book. The way in which Emily holds onto that packet of seeds, or even just thinks about it – whenever it shows up, it becomes a kind of shorthand for the reader to understand where Emily and Gen are in terms of their relationship with each other. And I just wasn’t expecting that simple gesture of Gen giving Emily marigold seeds to become so important.
JB: Looking back now, I can see how they were a touchstone throughout the book. And of course, a seed is symbolic – you don’t know how it will turn out, and you have to put in that care and investment to help it grow. In a way, I think that was something Jack wasn’t willing to do with Emily – he didn’t want her to bloom; he wanted her to stay this small thing that needed him – whereas Gen was invested in seeing Emily flourish, and vice versa.
MR: Seeds and flowers can be kind of a cliché, but I also think clichés can be clichés for a reason. I remember giving a draft of the novel to a writer friend, and they were like, “This seed thing is a little symbolically on the nose.” And I thought about it, and I decided, “Well, yeah. So what?” Not that I discounted his opinion, but there are reasons that we talk about seeds that way. It’s kind of universal: children go to kindergarten and put grass seeds in a Styrofoam cup and see what happens.
Q&A: Marie Rutkoski, Author of ‘The Hollow Heart’
Nathalie DeFelice·Writers Corner·September 13, 2021·3 min read
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We chat with the lovely Marie Rutkoski about her latest novel The Hollow Heart, which has intrigue, romance, and magic abound and is the heart-stopping conclusion to Marie Rutkoski’s Forgotten Gods duology.
Hi, Marie! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and about The Hollow Heart?
I live in Brooklyn with my two sons, my partner (Eve Gleichman, whose novel for adults, The Very Nice Box, was published in July 2021), a lot of books, and our four cats. That’s too many cats, I know.
The Hollow Heart is told from three different points of view: Nirrim’s, Sid’s, and an unnamed god’s. It’s a mix of fairytale, romance, and a villain’s story. I don’t think it spoils too much to say that Nirrim is the villain here! Sid, meanwhile, has returned home to Herran and is pining for Nirrim, without knowing what has happened to her and what she has become. I do love pining in a novel, and sapphic pining is even better.
What is it like for you when you start into the next part of a story? Is there anything that you pay special attention to when writing the continuation of a story?
For this book, I had to remember not just what I wrote in The Midnight Lie but also everything in The Winner’s Trilogy, since Sid is Kestrel and Arin’s child and has to navigate their difficult past. I’ll be honest, I initially wrote a scene featuring Kestrel’s father and had forgotten that his arm had been cut off at the elbow in The Winner’s Kiss. I had to go back and edit that in.
Among the gods you’ve written, which one is your favorite to write?
The god of death.
If you’d been faced with Nirrim’s choices when it came to losing her heart, do you think you’d have faced it similarly?
I probably would have made the same choice. It would have been difficult for me not to know something, particularly if I had worked so hard to know it. If I had been Pandora, I would have opened the box.
What are your favorite types of scenes (romantic, angsty, etc.) when you’re reading/writing?
I love romance AND angst, but maybe I’d say that I’m happy reading anything about intricate relationships between people. Sid’s chapters in The Hollow Heart were my favorite to write, especially the ones where she’s navigating her relationships with her mother, father, and godfather (Roshar).
I loved the cover of The Midnight Lie, but the new covers are absolutely STUNNING. Can you talk a little about the change and who the artist for the new covers is?
Ruben Ireland is the artist of the new covers and I love his spooky, beautiful aesthetic. I think both new covers capture Nirrim’s character. In The Midnight Lie, she is loving, quiet, and thoughtful. She tries so hard to be a good person that she sometimes puts other people first in a way that is harmful to herself. In The Hollow Heart, she is completely different. She wants to change the world, and is willing to be ruthless. Ruben was incredible in how he portrayed her emotions in each book. And the new covers are so vibrant.
See also
Q&A: Gareth Worthington, Author of ‘A Time For Monsters’
What sorts of shenanigans would Sid be getting into if brought to real life?
Breaking hearts and forgetting names. She is a total lady rake! But also very true to the people she loves. She’d also be really great at that TikTok challenge “Do you prefer masc or femme?”
Are there any hints you can give our readers about what might be in store for them?
Murder, mayhem, long buried secrets revealed! And kissing.
Do you have any projects you’re working on, what comes next after The Hollow Heart?
My novel for adults, Real Easy, will be out Jan 18, 2022. It’s a literary thriller set in 1999 at a strip club where one dancer is murdered, another goes missing, and a third tries to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Will you be doing a virtual event for the release of The Hollow Heart? How can we help celebrate your upcoming release?
Yes! I will be launching The Hollow Heart with Zoraida Córdova, whose new book (for adults), The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina is truly divine! Books of Wonder is hosting the event on Crowdcast on Tuesday, Sept 14, 6 PM EST.
LAPL BlogInterview With an Author: Marie RutkoskiDaryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch Library, Thursday, January 20, 2022
Author Marie Rutkoski and her first novel, Real Easy
Author Marie Rutkoski and her first novel, Real Easy. Photo credit: Beowulf Sheehan
Born in Illinois, Marie Rutkoski is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Harvard University. She is a professor of English literature at Brooklyn College and a New York Times bestselling author of books for children and young adults. She lives in Brooklyn with her family. Her first novel for adults is Real Easy and she recently talked about it with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
What was your inspiration for Real Easy?
About twenty years ago, I worked as a stripper in two different clubs, which helped pay off debt from my undergraduate education and make it a lot easier to attend graduate school. One night, a dancer was so high that we all thought someone had slipped something into her drink because it had the hallmarks of a date-rape drug: she was happy but sleepy and pretty much incapacitated. She needed a ride home from work and I felt I should offer, but I was also afraid, partly because I’m terrible at directions (this was in the late 90s when we had very basic cell phones and no GPS) and she clearly wouldn’t be able to give them to me. It was maybe 3 a.m., spooky and dark and empty outside, and even before that night, I worried about being followed home by someone who came to the club. I didn’t offer to drive her home. Someone else did, they got home safely, and everyone was fine. But the idea for Real Easy began with this question: What if something like that did happen, a dancer needed a ride home and another one offered, and it all went very scarily wrong?
Are Samantha, Georgia, Holly, Victor, or any of the other characters in the novel inspired by or based on specific individuals?
This book has a large cast of characters, but the main ones are three women: Samantha and Georgia (both dancers) and Holly (a detective). Something that makes Samantha special is her relationship with her boyfriend’s daughter Rosie. Samantha loves her deeply, and considers Rosie her own child. This was inspired by seeing how my sister-in-law (named Rosie) cherishes and legally adopted my brother’s son from a previous marriage, and how my own partner loves my children from a previous marriage. I don’t see a lot of this in books: how stepparents or partners form profound bonds with children who might not be biologically related but are theirs.
In your acknowledgments you thank your brother and sister-in-law, for their service as police officers and for facilitating your speaking with their colleagues. Did you also speak with dancers and/or club owners? How long did it take you to do the necessary research and then write Real Easy?
Not very long! I did talk with a friend who is a former dancer I worked with and asked her to read a draft, and I interviewed a club owner to see what things were like from a managerial perspective. The world of the club I already knew quite well, so the majority of my research time was spent on detective work and police procedures. I did a ride-along with my brother and asked him and my sister-in-law lots of questions. My brother also brought me to the station and introduced me to other detectives and an accident reconstructionist. My brother and sister-in-law work in Illinois, where I’m from and where the book is set, but I also spoke with a detective in Manhattan (whose wife is a former stripper) just to get another point of view. I knew Holly (the book’s main detective) would ask Georgia (a dancer) to help her investigate the crime, but I wasn’t quite sure why Georgia would agree or how a CI (Confidential Informant to the police) would be compensated. I had the idea that maybe Holly could offer to write Georgia a recommendation letter for college, and it was helpful to go to the detective and ask, “Is that possible? Is that something you would ever do for a CI?” (the answer was yes). Something he said about cops and clubs and casinos that stuck with me is that there’s more of a crossover than you might think, because cops keep strange hours and are already part of what you might consider the night-time world.
What was the most interesting or surprising thing that you learned during your research?
I spoke with a forensic pathologist about how the bodies of murder victims are examined. The conversation reminded me of the TV show Bones. I learned things that were pretty disturbing. I would not have the stomach for a job like that!
Having written for children, young adults, and adults, do you now have a preference regarding the audience for which you’re writing?
I love writing for all three. The book I’m working on now will be adult, but I’m not done writing for children.
What’s currently on your nightstand?
I’m currently reading The Mirror and the Light, by Hilary Mantel. I loved her first two books in the Thomas Cromwell trilogy. I’m a professor of Shakespeare at Brooklyn College, and while the time period of the trilogy is a generation earlier than the one I study, I’m still very into it. Next, I want to read Brown Girls, by Daphne Palasi Andreades; Dava Shastri’s Last Day, by Kirthana Ramisetti; Holly Black’s Book of Night; and drafts by writer friends.
Was there a book you felt you needed to hide from your parents?
Is there anyone who did NOT sneak their mother’s romance novels? Harlequin romances, Regency, historical books set in Scotland…I hid them under my bed. My mother somehow never noticed I was reading them and Stephen King, and instead focused on banning Judy Blume’s novels, which of course I read anyway.
Can you name a book you've bought for the cover?
Long Bright River, by Liz Moore. The Likeness, by Tana French. The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins. Those are perfect covers. Also just incredible books.
Can you name a book for which you are an evangelist (and you think everyone should read)?
The Very Nice Box, by Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett. I’m biased because Eve is my partner and Laura is a friend, but it’s also just an incredible book: a fun page-turner about scams and romance, and a moving portrait of grief and the desire to change. Also, Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters. The twists! It is so cleverly written. But it was also the first novel I read that centers on gay women. It was affirming to read a book with a happy ending for two women in love. I’m a fool for love! Even though Real Easy is a thriller and can be dark, it also has some romance in it. I’m not sure I’ll be able to write a book without at least some romance. Another favorite book that I read recently was Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. I cannot get over it.
Is there a book you would most want to read again for the first time?
Maybe Pride and Prejudice. Aside from what I reread to teach, Shakespeare’s plays, that book is what I have reread most. I read it in junior high. I read it when I was in the hospital, after giving birth to my first son. When I was sick with the flu. It’s a perfect book and a great pleasure.
What is the last piece of art (music, movies, tv, more traditional art forms) that you've experienced or that has impacted you?
The movies Moonlight and Minari. They are both beautiful. Even their sadness is beautiful.
Rutkoski, Marie THE MIDNIGHT LIE Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Young Adult Fiction) $18.99 3, 3 ISBN: 978-0-374-30638-0
Memory and illusion, truth and lies--all paths lead to heartbreak in this first of a fantasy duology.
"It is as it is." That's always the response in isolated Herrath when anyone questions the oppressive caste system. Once that was enough for Nirrim, who is plagued by visions of a different past; but after meeting the cocky, nosy, and confusingly attractive traveler Sid, Nirrim discovers how dangerous it can be to want. Set some 20 years later in the same world as Rutkoski's acclaimed The Winner's Trilogy, the baroque (almost purple) prose begins in medias res, which Nirrim's naively unreliable narration does little to clarify. Although clever and kind, her passivity and desperate neediness make brown-skinned, green-eyed Nirrim an atypical YA heroine. While fans of the earlier books will easily guess her secrets, dark-eyed, fair-haired Sid presents at first as careless, arrogant, and as confident in her sexuality as Nirrim is shocked by Sid's attraction to other women. But this facade eventually proves to be another "midnight lie": a truth intended to mislead. When their almost instantaneous mutual desire develops quickly into a prickly friendship and (discreetly) consummated romance, both acknowledge it cannot last. Yet the relationship's development--combined with the genuinely shocking revelation of Herrath's history--leads Nirrim to a horrific choice…one that will leave readers clamoring for the next entry.
Lush, swoony, painful, enraging, and as cathartic as a good cry. (Fantasy. 14-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Rutkoski, Marie: THE MIDNIGHT LIE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A611140241/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8d05f133. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
The Midnight Lie (The Midnight Lie #1)
Marie Rutkoski. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $18.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-374-30638-0
Rutkoski returns to the world of the Winner's Trilogy with elaborate descriptions and lush worldbuilding. Nirrim, a Half Kith, has lived with the Ward's motto, "It is as it is," never questioning the harsh rules that govern her kind or the walls that separate her from the Middling and High Kith grounds. She keeps her head down, justifying the forged passports she makes for her caretaker, Raven, through "midnight lies," falsities "told for someone else's sake," meant to help those seeking to escape the Ward. When turning in a magical bird lands her in jail and Nirrim meets Sid, an attractive traveler avoiding an impending, marriage, Sid questions why no one remembers the city's history or its gods. The harder Nirrim falls for Sid, the closer she gets to uncovering the truth about herself and her city, a truth that many are desperate to keep hidden. Despite uneven pacing, Rutkoski offers a captivating LGBTQ love story, atmospheric in the vein of Bardugo's Six of Crows. Charismatic characters and compelling chapter cliffhangers build intrigue throughout. Ages 14-up. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy. Charlotte Sheedy Literary. (Mar.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 PWxyz, LLC
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"The Midnight Lie (The Midnight Lie #1)." Publishers Weekly, vol. 267, no. 3, 20 Jan. 2020, p. 71. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A613203890/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=01ff5aa6. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
The Midnight Lie. By Marie Rutkoski. Mar. 2020. 368p. Farrar, $18.99 (9780374306380). Gr. 8-12.
When she meets Sid, Narrim has been living a quiet yet dangerous life in the Ward, never questioning her limited opportunities, but never quite settling into them either. Sid is exotic, mysterious, capable in every situation, and yet, somehow, she's intrigued by Nirrim, a girl from the worst part of town. As the two pursue mutual interests involving magic and espionage, Nirrim begins to trust the abilities that make her unlike most Ward folk and to fall in love with the other young woman. It is difficult to find teen fantasy novels where LGBTQ+ romance isn't tangential, but in this adventure set in the same world as Rutkoski's Winner's series, girl-girl love and attraction drive the plot as much as Sid's secret mission and Nirrim's need to understand her uncommon talents, and each narrative thread complements the others. Read it for the romance, for the adventure, for the underlying commentary on divided societies--nothing disappoints. This is a treat for LGBTQ+ readers and the ending, happily, seems to indicate more to come.--Cindy Welch
HIGH-DEMAND BACKST0RY: Rutkoski's Winner's trilogy was both critically acclaimed and a best seller. It's likely that this will be the same!
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 American Library Association
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Welch, Cindy. "The Midnight Lie." Booklist, vol. 116, no. 12, 15 Feb. 2020, p. 83. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A616047258/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=af3995e3. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
Rutkoski, Marie THE HOLLOW HEART Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Teen None) $18.99 9, 14 ISBN: 978-0-374-31384-5
A new (and improved?) Nirrim settles in as queen in this follow-up to The Midnight Lie (2020).
The book opens with a brief recap of events in the previous volume: Nirrim traded her heart to the God of Thieves in exchange for lost knowledge and is still distraught over parting ways with her lover, Sid. Thanks to her transaction, the Half Kith, the oppressed people of Ethin, have recovered their memories of the truth about their island and regained the magic that the High Kith rulers had been siphoning from them. Nirrim, now without a heart, even more powerful, and seeking revenge, begins a violent onslaught against the High Kith and positions herself as queen. Meanwhile, readers are gifted chapters from Sid's perspective, allowing the cocky, pressured heir of Herran a chance to relate her own struggles as her mother lies ill, possibly from poison. The sweet, hesitant heroine of the first installation is gone as Nirrim descends further into cruelty and violence, while Rutkoski exquisitely fleshes out Sid's character and the nation of Herran, gently tackling themes of colonization and its legacy all the while. The elegant prose makes this a pleasurable read that will keep readers engrossed. In this world, characters are diverse in their appearances: Nirrim has black hair, green eyes, and brown skin; pale-skinned Sid has blond hair.
A heart-wrenching, deftly executed end to this duology. (Fantasy. 14-18)
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"Rutkoski, Marie: THE HOLLOW HEART." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A673649929/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=dce8e627. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
*Real Easy
Marie Rutkoski. Holt, $26.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-78824-5
YA and children's authot Rutkoski (The Kronos Chronicles) makes her adult debut with a haunting crime novel. Victor Amador, a police detective in an unnamed state, is hoping fot a quiet overtime shift when he gets a call to investigate a report of an abandoned cat in a ditch. When he responds, he finds blood and, eventually, the corpse of a woman who worked at a nearby strip club. The exact cause of death isn't immediately cleat, but the coroner finds date-tape drugs in the woman's system, and the figure of a crown was carved inro the sole of one foot. Amador investigates, with the help of colleague Holly Meylin, who is still traumatized by het infanr's accidental death due to het ex-husband's negligence. Rutkoski uses the familiar plot of a police search for a killer targering women to paint moving portraits of desperate lives on both sides of the law. She's especially good at making the strippers more than cliches. Fans of psychologically rich thrillers will hope for more from Rurkoski. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners. (Jan.)
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"Real Easy." Publishers Weekly, vol. 268, no. 49, 29 Nov. 2021, p. 39. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A686559080/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c1dc2433. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
Rutkoski, Marie REAL EASY Henry Holt (Fiction None) $22.99 1, 18 ISBN: 978-1-250-78824-5
It's 1999, and the case of one woman murdered and another kidnapped takes on nuance as the story is conveyed from the points of view of at least a dozen different voices.
Samantha's time is split between two worlds: There's her longtime job as a stripper at the Lovely Lady and her domestic life with boyfriend Nick and his daughter, Rosie, whom she longs to mother. Despite Nick's objections, she finds something meaningful in her relationships with her fellow dancers and in the care of Dale, the Lovely Lady's owner. She even becomes a mentor of sorts to Jolene, the newest dancer at the club, offering to drive the girl home one night when she turns up high. They never make it to their destination. Detective Victor Amador responds to the call of a car in a ditch and finds Jolene's body; the girl has been strangled. Samantha is missing, apparently kidnapped. The rest of the novel follows this unfolding mystery, with every chapter told from a different character's point of view. Some characters, like dancers Samantha and Georgia as well as Victor and detective Holly Meylin, get multiple chapters, while others, like Nick and Rosie and the bouncer, Jimmy, get only one each, but the multiplicity of perspectives provides layers of narrative detail that lend complexity to this thriller. Rutkoski's writing is lyrical, offering quiet metaphors and imagery despite some pointedly crude language, primarily directed at the dancers by men at the club. The language disparity and the multiple perspectives serve to emphasize a larger point: that even in ugliness, loss, and tragedy, there is humanity. Though the killer is unmasked, the takeaway is much more universal--and satisfying--than just finding out whodunit: This is a story about flawed people just doing the best they can to live their lives and find love.
Vulnerable yet steely, this thriller rises above the rest.
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"Rutkoski, Marie: REAL EASY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A686536729/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bc7e85e6. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
Real Easy. By Marie Rutkoski. Jan. 2022. 320p. Holt, $26.99 (9781250788245).
Samantha Lind, known to the patrons of the Lovely Lady as Ruby, disappears while ferrying home another dancer, jade, who was found blitzed on GHB in the middle of her shift. Hours later, police find Samantha's empty car abandoned with its seat belts slashed and Jade's strangled body dumped nearby. Samantha appears to have been snatched by a killer whose carnage yields few clues. The case lands with detectives in the small town of Fremont, Illinois, Victor Amador and Holly Meylin, who must draw information from the Lovely Lady's secretive employees, as well as from Samantha's guilt-ridden boyfriend and a seemingly infinite number of suspicious patrons. When the killer's carving of a crude crown into Jade's heel is linked to the nearby murders of several other exotic dancers, Meylin is certain they'll find the killer at the Lovely Lady, and she recruits a dancer, Gigi, to work as her confidential informant. Gigi, a sharp-witted survivor, quickly unravels the club's secrets but not before she becomes the killer's next target. Veteran children's author Rutkoski's writing is a pleasure here; she weaves well-calibrated suspense with gritty portrayals of dancers and detectives that hold strikingly parallel themes of loneliness, painful pasts, and heavy doses of distrust.--Christine Tran
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 American Library Association
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Tran, Christine. "Real Easy." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 9-10, 1 Jan. 2022, p. 43. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A692710692/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=096c5efc. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
Ordinary Love
Marie Rutkoski. Knopf, $28 (368p)
ISBN 978-0-593-80326-4
*Bestselling YA author Rutkoski (Real Easy) makes her adult romance debut with a raw and moving second-chance love story that tracks a woman's determined efforts to regain self-worth as she heals from an abusive marriage and reunites with a past love. For many years, Emily has convinced herself that she's happy with her affluent and seemingly doting husband, Jack. But as Jack's red flags accumulate--including controlling tendencies, bursts of anger, and a dangerous punishment for their young son--the happy facade fractures. Amid major emotional upheaval as Emily considers how to safely extricate herself from her marriage, she runs into her high school best friend and first love, Gen, at a fundraiser. Once a gangly teen with lofty ambitions, Gen is now a stranger to Emily but is known to the public as a distinguished Olympic athlete with a heart of gold and a reputation as a heartbreaker. Both women are responsible for deep wounds in the other that have persisted despite their years apart, but their unmistakable bond draws them back together. Rutkoski tracks their slow rekindling in stunning prose that skillfully weaves past and present. The result is a brutal yet beautiful story that captures what it means to genuinely support, cherish, and love another person. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, CAA. (June)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 PWxyz, LLC
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"Ordinary Love." Publishers Weekly, vol. 272, no. 16, 21 Apr. 2025, p. 33. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A837360993/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=30277ff0. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
Ordinary Love. By Marie Rutkoski. June 2025. 368p. Knopf, $28 (9780593803264); e-book (9780593803271).
Rutkoski (Real Easy, 2022) adds a literary relationship drama to her oeuvre, which includes books for children, young adults, and adults. When Emily's abusive husband Jack pushes their son below the surface of a pool, it is the last straw for their marriage. She moves out immediately, yet she struggles with her search for direction. Before continuing the contemporary story, flashbacks reveal multiple episodes in Emily's past. Emily's relationship with a high-school friend, Gen, looms large in her mind. She loved Gen with an aching passion, but after an epic fight in college, they broke up. She loved Jack too and built her family with him, but he became manipulative and demeaning. On her own in the city, she reconnects with Gen, who is now an Olympic athlete--but Emily's life is much more complicated than it was back in Ohio. Emily's inner battle is the main focus of the novel; she tangles with her bisexual identity, her pull toward Gen, and her obligations to her family. Recommend to fans of complicated, emotional love stories. --Cari Dubiel
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 American Library Association
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Dubiel, Cari. "Ordinary Love." Booklist, vol. 121, no. 17-18, May 2025, p. 30. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A852211595/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e791a5a3. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
Rutkoski, Marie ORDINARY LOVE Knopf (Fiction None) $28.00 6, 10 ISBN: 9780593803264
A recently separated writer and an Olympic track star reconnect.
Emily lives a privileged life as wife to hedge fund partner Jack and mother to two bright, inquisitive children. She married immediately after graduating from Harvard; after all, Jack was perfect: kind, handsome, enamored with her, and "his happiness--like his wealth, his love--felt good." She said yes without looking back, and, after becoming pregnant unexpectedly, chose to forgo law school for a life as a stay-at-home mom. When her marriage hits a breaking point--and she realizes Jack might not be the man she thought he was--she's thrust into a new reality, facing down threats of financial ruin and even loss of custody. It's during this separation that she reconnects with her first love, Gennifer Hall. But it's been 15 years since they fell for one another in small-town Ohio, and Gen is no longer the lanky, adoring teenager with worn-through shoes whom Emily first kissed in the bed of a pickup truck. She's a world-famous athlete now, with a new wardrobe and a string of glamorous ex-girlfriends, and she's still stony over their abrupt breakup. As Emily takes account of her priorities and desires, she and Gen drift back into one another's now very different lives. The novel, which leaps between the present day and various points in Emily's life, is tender and finely written. The women's love for one another--at times hesitant and strained, but ever-present--is central, but Emily's journey to rescue her autonomy and creativity, and protect her children, is just as stirring. This dialogue-heavy novel burns slow, drawing the reader deep into the protagonist's interiority and through the emotional turbulence that shakes Emily's most important relationships as she conjures "a vision, clear as fact, of what could have been." By the end, readers will feel they know Emily and Gen backward and forward, and they will almost certainly miss spending time with them.
A sexy, bittersweet novel with characters that peel off the page.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Rutkoski, Marie: ORDINARY LOVE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A839213359/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=42ddbc19. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.