Ruby Starr

by Deborah Lytton

Overview

Ruby Starr has a big imagination and an even bigger love of books in this funny, authentic series starter

Ruby Starr has always loved books. She loves them so much that she started a lunchtime book club called The Unicorns. She also has the best friends ever—some real, some fictional—and that's just the way she likes it.

But then one dark and stormy night (okay it was the morning of a sunny day) Charlotte, a new student comes to town. Ruby knows from her books that a new character probably means trouble...and she's right! Charlotte wants to turn the book club into a drama club, and she's spending a lot of time with Ruby's best friend.

Ruby's going to have to use her imagination and love of reading to solve this big problem before she loses her school friends and her book friends for good.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492645771
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	08/01/2017
Series:	Ruby Starr , #1
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	12.40(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Deborah Lytton resides in Los Angeles, California with her two daughters and their Papillon, Faith. She is also the author of teen novels Jane in Bloom and Silence. Visit her online at www.deborahlytton.com

Editorial Reviews

"Peppered with references to her favorite books, Ruby's fresh, humorous, first-person, present-tense account of her fifth-grade traumas, her real and imaginary friendships, and her supportive family rings true...[An] amusing sage of primary-school friendships with a clever pro-reading subtext." — Kirkus Reviews

"Fans of Junie B. Jones will enjoy this work for its authentic look at middle school friendship. A great companion to James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts’s Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

06/01/2017
Gr 4–6—Fifth grader Ruby Starr is a founding member of the Unicorns, a lunchtime book club she participates in with her best friends—some real, some from her favorite books. One day, a new student, Charlotte, arrives and decides the Unicorns should be a drama club rather than a book club. As Ruby's best friend begins hanging out with Charlotte, Ruby struggles with jealousy and disappointment. Family members advise her to try to make new friends with similar interests. Ruby's wild imagination helps her navigate her problems. The illustrations let readers visualize the protagonist's vivid imaginings, and break up the text. VERDICT Fans of Junie B. Jones will enjoy this work for its authentic look at middle school friendship. A great companion to James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts's Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life.—Adrienne Sayban, Peoria Public Library, AZ

School Library Journal

2017-05-24
Ten-year-old Ruby Starr feels threatened when a new girl arrives in her fifth-grade class and turns everything upside down. Ruby, a white girl with blonde, curly hair, is an ardent bibliophile who often imagines she's a character in a book herself. Ruby's happily ensconced in school with special girlfriends and the Unicorn Book Club she started when new kid Charlotte, also white, appears. Before Ruby realizes what's happening, Charlotte's invited to join the Unicorns and Ruby's best friend seems "gaga" about the new arrival. When Charlotte eschews reading and suggests it would be fun to turn the book club into a drama club, an angry, hurt, and jealous Ruby asks Charlotte if she's ever even read a book. Immediately regretting her words, Ruby turns to her fictional heroines for inspiration. After accidentally discovering the secret behind Charlotte's dislike of books, Ruby eventually has a chance to redeem herself. Peppered with references to her favorite books, Ruby's fresh, humorous, first-person, present-tense account of her fifth-grade traumas, her real and imaginary friendships, and her supportive family rings true. However, the text is frequently abruptly interrupted by Ruby's dramatic daydreams complete with (uncredited) cartoon illustrations—a distracting and unsuccessful device. Ruby's world is a largely white one. A mostly amusing saga of primary-school friendships with a clever pro-reading subtext. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews