Ruby Red (YA)

Ruby Red. Kerstin Gier. 2011. Henry Holt. 336 pages.

I first felt it in the school canteen on Monday morning. For a moment it was like being on a roller-coaster when you're racing down from the very top. It lasted only two seconds, but that was long enough for me to dump a plateful of mashed potatoes and gravy all over my school uniform. I managed to catch the plate just in time, as my knife and fork clattered to the floor.

Gwyneth Shephard has been waiting and watching knowing that at any minute her cousin, Charlotte, could disappear. For Charlotte has the gene, the time traveling gene that has been passed down through the women in the family. Charlotte has had several dizzy spells the last week, but so far, she's remained in her own time.

How does her family "know" that Charlotte is the one? Well, according to the prophecy--or the prediction--the one will have been born on October 7th. Gwyneth, who was born on October 8th, has nothing to worry about. She's not the one.

Does she want to be the one? She's never really given it that much thought. Every member of her family has their own eccentricity, their own "gift." Even if those gifts are just laughable--such as her great-aunts visions. No one takes those visions seriously. And no one--outside her best friend--takes Gwen's gift seriously, Gwen's gift of seeing ghosts.

So what will happen to this very strange, very dysfunctional family when the "wrong" girl vanishes into the past? For Gwyneth it is beyond confusing. She never knows when it will happen, when she'll be pulled back into the past, at what year she'll travel to, what dangers she may be facing, how long she'll stay before returning to her own time. What Gwyneth needs most are answers to her questions.

But answers are hard to come by. For the guardians like to keep their secrets. And Gideon her traveling companion? Well, what does she really know about him? Except for the fact that he feels cheated or disappointed. So they're not off to the best of starts...

I liked Ruby Red. I'm not sure I loved it. It made me curious, I won't lie. But there are still so many questions. I do feel this is just the beginning, that this was just the prologue for all that is to come. So it's got some promise, some potential. But on it's own, well, it doesn't quite satisfy. It leaves me wanting the next book. (Which is NOT a bad thing necessarily!)


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , Henry Holt , international literature , review copy , YA Fiction , YA Paranormal , YA Romance , YA Science Fiction

The Miles Between (YA)

The Miles Between. Mary E. Pearson. 2009. Henry Holt. 272 pages. 

I was seven the first time I was sent away. This raised eyebrows, even among by parent's globe-trotting friends, and I was brought back home in short order. Rumors are embarrassing, you know? A nanny was employed, but that only partially solved their problem. I was still in the house. I was seen and heard. When I turned eight years old, it seemed reasonable enough to send me off again. And they did. They never kept me at any one place for long. 

Des (Destiny) Faraday, our narrator, doesn't have many friends. Then again, she doesn't want any friends. Readers meet her on October 19th, a day that Des has come to dread year after year, though readers aren't quite sure why. Wanting to take control of her life, Des rips the page right off her calendar. Things seem to be off on a shaky start. Until she meets a stranger. Until she asks for one fair day in the universe. Until she finds a car with a running engine. Until she finds three companions that need escape from Hedgebrook Academy--a boarding school--just as much as she does. Can one day of freedom on the road change lives? Perhaps.

I enjoyed The Miles Between. It was emotional--very emotional in places. Though the novel only covers one day, there is so much growth and development. Destiny is changed by this day--and it's a wonderful thing to see. And the writing is lovely. I would compare it to Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, but I think The Miles Between is an easier read, a less-intimidating read.

There are so many different ways of being good. It's all about perspective. (35)

The world before us is a postcard, and I imagine the story we are writing on it. (45)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2009 , Henry Holt , review copy , road trip , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction

The Witch's Guide to Cooking With Children (MG)

The Witch's Guide to Cooking With Children. Keith McGowan. 2009. Henry Holt. 192 pages.

I love children. Eating them, that is. I've eaten quite a few children over the centuries. You may wonder where I get them all. The answer is: I get them the traditional way. From parents, of course. 

The book begins with a little excerpt from Fay Haladerry's "How to Cook and Eat Children." This mystery novel stars two children--an eleven-year old boy, Solomon, an eight-year-old girl, Connie. These two first get suspicious of their new community when they see a local dog chewing (or perhaps burying?) a human bone. Of course, they don't know right then and there that it is human. But a trip to the library soon has these kids convinced that there is something strange about one of their neighbors, a woman named Fay Haladerry. Readers, of course, know more than our hero and heroine for most of the novel. For they realize early on that a) this woman is a witch--the witch--from Hansel and Gretel and b) that Sol and Connie's parents have it in for them. They see the first few failed attempts. They have a better idea of who to trust and who not to trust.

This book has an interesting premise, a playful premise. Throughout the book, readers get a glimpse into this witch's book. And these scenes may prove the highlight for readers interested in this twisted fairy tale. But, for me, the novel lacks substance when it comes to characterization. The story in many ways seems one-dimensional. Sol and Connie don't deserve to be cooked and eaten--not by any stretch of the imagination--but they do lack the depth needed for this reader (this adult reader) to really care about them as individuals. The book lacks complexity in a way. Beyond the premise, beyond the playful twist to a traditional fairy tale, it isn't as great as the book cover might suggest.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2009 , Henry Holt , J Fantasy , J Fiction , J Mystery