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Ruby Red

by Kerstin Gier
336p. 978-0-80509-252-3.
COPY ISBN
Gr 6—9—Gwyneth Shepherd, 16, was born into an offbeat English family. Unfortunately, she has no real interest in its unique time-travel gene or the tedious fencing training and language lessons that come with being the chosen one. That's best left to her cousin, Charlotte, so when Gwyneth, rather than Charlotte, starts traveling to the past, she is entirely unprepared. She lacks adequate knowledge of history and etiquette, and her mother warns her not to trust the secret Society of the Guardians, whose job is to protect her. Gwyneth's only help comes from Gideon de Villiers, a handsome time traveler from another family. Together, they must face off against the formidable Count and uncover the mysterious disappearance of a stolen chronograph, a time machine. The teen describes her exploits with humor and naïveté. Aside from her special abilities (she can also see ghosts), she is every bit the typical teenager who bickers with her family, snoops with her best friend, and crushes on the snooty Gideon. This first installment of a trilogy will soon find a new crop of fans in the United States. It's a fun, engaging read that will be an easy sell for teens wanting to time travel with a delightful narrator.—Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Northampton Community College, Hawley, PA
When "ordinary" Gwyneth (instead of well-prepared cousin Charlotte) unexpectedly inherits her family's time-travel gene, much adventure ensues. The story flies by, complete with mysterious societies, ghosts, stolen chronographs, sinister villains, romantic entanglements, and many costume changes. The pace never flags, and Gwen's narration is consistently engaging and often funny in this readable novel, first in a projected trilogy.
In a fast-paced novel that contains mystery, romance, and adventure, a contemporary teen’s life is interrupted when she suddenly and unexpectedly begins to travel into the past. Anthea Bell’s translation of Ruby Red, the first book in a best-selling trilogy originally published in Germany, is fluid and colloquial. Readers will sympathize with the way Gwen is largely ignored by her family, who pay more attention to Gwen’s cousin, the “beautiful and immaculate” Charlotte, and her dizzy spells. Gwen doesn’t know whether she should trust the Guardians of the Lodge of Count Saint-Germain, a secret society to which her family belongs. But the Guardians may be the only ones who can keep her safe, creating a powerful and compelling tension.

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