Ruby Oliver Quartet

The Ruby Oliver Quarter is a series of young adult novels by E. Lockhart. It follows the high school career of Ruby Oliver, a neurotic, hyperverbal girl who starts seeing a shrink after being backstabbed by her best friend. Over the course of the series, she attempts to sort out her various issues with school, friends, family, and boys, all while trying to retain her sanity.


 * Almighty Mom: Ruby’s mother.
 * Alpha Bitch / Girl Posse: Heidi, Katarina, and Ariel make up a girl posse of alpha bitches.
 * Annoying Younger Sibling: Jackson’s younger sister Dempsey.
 * Be Careful What You Wish For: During The Treasure Map of Boys, Ruby wishes that the bad feelings between her and Jackson would go away.
 * Also "Just once, I'd like to see a situation with too many guys."
 * Because I Said So: Ruby’s mother, quite frequently.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Kim.
 * Bittersweet Ending: The Treasure Map of Boys ends with
 * Brand X: Averted for the most part. While Tate Prep itself is fictional and the author occasionally takes creative liberties with certain locations in order to serve the story, she uses real places in Seattle for the story (such as the B&O).
 * Break Up to Make Up: Ruby pines for Jackson in some way, shape, or form throughout the first three books. With the help of her friends and therapist (not to mention her increasing feelings for Noel), she eventually comes to terms with the fact that Jackson was and always will be a jerk.
 * Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Noel and Ruby.
 * Class Trip: The latter half of The Boy Book takes place during November Week, a yearly event in which students go on various outdoor trips—like kayaking and mountain-climbing—for the week. Oddly, November Week isn’t mentioned at all in Real Live Boyfriends, despite the month of November coming and going during the book.
 * Crazy Jealous Guy:  gets this way in the later books if he thinks Ruby likes another guy. It is not played for laughs.
 * Disappeared Dad: Meghan’s dad died when she was young; Noel’s parents are divorced.
 * Ditzy Genius: Although Meghan is an intelligent student, she never really seems to realize that almost every girl in school hates her.
 * Eating Lunch Alone: Ruby, especially in The Boyfriend List. This improves as time goes on.
 * Forbidden Fruit: By the time Ruby realizes her feelings for Noel,
 * Former Friend of Alpha Bitch: Kim and Cricket to Ruby.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: Ruby with Jackson and, later, Noel.
 * Hidden Depths: Ruby initially judges Meghan pretty harshly, but Meghan is also the only girl in the entire school who stands by her after her reputation is ruined, and by the second book the two have become friends.
 * Invisible Parents: Aside from Ruby’s mother and father, most of the parents in the series are either rarely mentioned or just never seen.
 * Karma Houdini: Kim gets away with destroying Ruby’s reputation, although
 * Love Triangle: Ruby ends up in more than one.
 * Lust Object: Ruby has a couple of these, mostly Gideon and Angelo.
 * Mars and Venus Gender Contrast: Part of the point of the entire series.
 * Mistaken for Cheating:  thinks this about   twice, once in The Treasure Map of Boys with   and once in Real Live Boyfriends with  . It does not end well either time.
 * Not Good with People: Hutch, who is even more of a social outcast than Ruby. He does eventually befriend Ruby and Noel.
 * Oh Crap: Ruby gets a pretty big one in The Treasure Map of Boys when
 * Parental Obliviousness: Downplayed with Ruby’s parents; although Ruby’s mother does notice that Ruby isn’t hanging around with her old friends anymore, neither of her parents ever seem to notice the true amount of crap that their daughter has to deal with.
 * Precocious Crush: Ruby has a vague one on one of her teachers, but it never goes anywhere.
 * Selective Obliviousness: Ruby is implied to have suffered this in regards to Jackson and Kim.
 * Scholarship Student: Ruby. Also, Finn.
 * Shipper on Deck: Nora does a little of this for Ruby and Gideon.
 * Stalker with a Crush:  acts this way during The Treasure Map of Boys after
 * Temporary Love Interest: During The Boy Book, Ruby hooks up with  a few times. In Real Live Boyfriends, while
 * There Are No Therapists: Averted with Ruby and Meghan, both of whom are in therapy for the duration of the series.
 * Your Cheating Heart: This seems to be a chronic problem with Jackson. When he dumps Ruby for Kim, he swears that the two of them hadn't yet done anything, but Ruby eventually admits to herself that he was probably lying. Later he also cheats on Kim.