Laura Carabello’s book “A Story of Passion in Aruba,” the newly released novel is generating positive publicity for the island and was completed prior to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Tourists will learn about a side of Aruba that has gone virtually unnoticed: The Colony, a luxurious seaside community developed by the oil industry during the mid-twentieth century to house its international executive team that ran Aruba’s first refinery operations. Crude! recounts the intimacies of heroine Debra Sheffield as she engages in a passionate love affair with an Aruban native—a dramatic departure from her New Jersey parochial upbringing and the 1960s social conventions imposed upon her.

Crude! depicts Aruba in its infancy and the inhabitants that shaped its modern culture, now known to millions as “One Happy Island.” Carabello became intrigued by The Colony during her first visit to the island in 1975.

The novel takes a critical look at the era’s interracial, religious and class distinctions, both in the U.S. and the Caribbean. It also provides a rich travelogue of Aruba, including island history and points of interest.

Online reviewers say:

“Hang on tight! CRUDE! is not just a story of passion, it is an emotional rollercoaster that pulls the reader in to Debra Sheffield’s web of deceit, guilt, hypocrisy, loneliness and manipulation. I don’t know whether to pity her or be jealous ... .”

” ... perfect combination of a girl-next-door and reckless sex kitten ... history and travelogue portions are more than just background—they’re extremely well written and set the stage for the protagonist’s fall from grace.”

” ... A great book to bring on island and beach vacations ... .”
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