Monday, October 19, 2015

Gier, Kersten. Ruby Red. Trans. Anthea Bell. New York: Henry Holt, 2011.

I am being really honest here. One of my students recommended this series. It's a Young Adult series about a contemporary 16-year-old who time travels in London. I find the protagonist uninteresting, the plot slow, the romance boring and slow, and the period detail when time travel does occur is stereotypical and shallow. It's probably because I've read many, many books. I've read YA that is better written. I've also read actual literature from the time period to which the heroine travels back. I'd much rather students just read actual Austen or Dickens or Shakespeare. However, if a student finds this series interesting--I would not hesitate to recommend it to him or her. Perhaps if I were in Grade 6 or 7, I would have loved this series, and my interest in reading Austen, Dickens and Shakespeare would have increased because of it.

The author's page is here and contains links to the book trailer and various interviews that are useful.  I should mention this is the first of "The Ruby Red" trilogy, which also includes the titles "Emerald Green" and "Sapphire Blue."  I must admit, the covers are very beautiful.