In both the adult and young adult book world, paranormal, dystopia, fallen angels, vampires, and werewolves rule the shelves, which can make sifting through the masses a little difficult. When I came across Ruby Red, a novel that seems to sit in it’s own genre—not quite paranormal, not quite historical—but definitely full of time travel, something about it just drew me in. In short, the plot revolves around 16 year old Gwen, a girl whose family has a time traveling gene. Gwen’s cousin Charlotte has been trained since birth to be the family time traveler, fulfilling a centuries old prophecy, only when the time comes, Charlotte doesn’t travel, Gwen does. What ensues is an introduction to an ancient society filled with dark and compelling characters, a handsome and dangerous fellow traveler, assassins, and the discovery of a family secret that will forever change Gwen’s identity. The story is not exactly complex—it’s only about 300 pages and moves very quickly, but it is captivating. In this first book Gier does preliminary character set-up, but does not delve (outside of Gwen) into motivations and allegiances. Many of Gier’s characters are shadowed, their natures and motives unclear, while others are so dark they seem to swallow you whole. The reader really doesn’t know what to think about many of the supporting characters—will they work with or against Gwen—and it is this that helps to draw you toward the sequels (that and a cliffhanger ending).
This is an easy book to read. Not because it is simple and juvenile (which it is not), but because it’s good. Good characters, original concept, and fun storyline; these all come together to create a fun and entertaining read. I eagerly anticipate the next books in this trilogy.
I wonder how long it would take me to brush up my German??
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The pacing of the book was a bit slow at first, but the characters are so well developed, and the story was so mysterious, that I remained intrigued. Even the secondary characters had terrific, three dimensional personalities. About halfway through the book, things start to pick up, and then it's impossible to put this book down! In the last half of the book, there is action, romance, and mystery! I couldn't have asked for a better story.
ReplyDeleteThe story is told from Gwyneth's POV, and she is a likable character. She has a very dynamic personality. Some of the things she says are really funny, and she won't take anyone's crap. She asks a lot of questions, but no one seems to answer them. That got frustrating sometimes. I think that was the point, though, to make the reader understand how confused and frustarted Gwyneth was. She doesn't complain, like many of the heroines in the YA books, and she also isn't obsessed with boys. She's not rebellious, and she doesn't have an attitude problem. She stands up for herself when she has to, but over all, she's a very polite, well-adjusted girl. It was a nice change.
I've just read the sequel "Sapphire Blue", which comes out in the Fall of 2012 and I have to say it was just as fun as "Ruby Red". A great one to look forward to in the coming months!
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