An intelligent psychological thriller awaits a reader who opens the pages into The Ruining by Anna Collomore.  A Gatsby-esq yellow mansion adorns the cover of the book, eluding to the classic tale of love and loss — the title alludes to the same.  The question is, who will be ruined?   Readers first meet Annie.  Annie wants to leave all of her past behind.  At 18, she’s escaping from her home to become a nanny for a wealthy family in the San Francisco Bay area.  The Cohens look like they have it all.  Two young children, lucrative careers, and now a live-in nanny.  Annie’s primary job is to care for Zoe, the 3 year old daughter.  She is also getting to go to college on the Cohen’s dime.  Libby Cohen begins their relationship as wanting to be a confidant and friend to Annie.  But Annie’s little mistakes here and there allow Collomore to slowly peel away Libby’s fantastic life and show her to be the manipulator she is proud to be.  Poor Annie is the brunt of pent up emotion and she doesn’t know why.  Further literary connections to a classic feminist short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” foreshadow Annie’s eventual mental breakdown at the hands of Libby.  But Collomore has other twists and turns along the way that make this story one that students will want to read in one sitting.  There’s a love interest for Annie, as well as two back-stories that pressure both of the main characters and create tension throughout.  There are times when a chapter will be confusing and fast paced, as an attempt to mimick the chaos going on in Annie’s mind at the hands of Libby.  The only frustration lies in how fast and clean the ending comes.  It doesn’t follow the theme of distrust developed throughout the book and is a bit of a let down, even though it has a happy ending.  A better ending would have reflected Annie’s growth while still acknowledging that she’ll never fully be able to trust herself or others for a very long time.  Still, I believe this book will be passed from girlfriend to girlfriend as a great read.  Recommended for high school and public libraries.