Published by: Greenwillow Books, September 22nd 2015
Genre: MG, Fantasy, Steampunk, Alternate History, Ships
Pages: 352
Format: Ebook
Ruby is a thief-in-training and a keeper of secrets—ones she doesn't even know herself. A Riddle in Ruby is the first book in a witty and fast-paced fantasy-adventure trilogy for fans for Jonathan Stroud, Septimus Heap, and The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates.
Ruby Teach, daughter of a smuggler and pirate, has been learning how to swindle and steal and pick the most complex locks for as long as she can remember. But a collision with aristocratic young lord Athen sends her spinning into chaos. Little did she know that her whole life has been spent in hiding from nefarious secret societies and the Royal Navy . . . who are both now on her trail. In this debut middle grade adventure, Kent Davis weaves a rip-roaring tale through an alternate colonial Philadelphia. A world where alchemy—that peculiar mix of magic and science—has fueled the industrial revolution. With this highly original setting, a cast of fully rounded characters and rapid-fire, funny dialogue, A Riddle in Ruby will call to mind fantasy greats like Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett.
Thank you, A Riddle In Ruby, for bringing the magic back to middle grade fantasy. I've read a slew of MG fantasy this year, most with ships and pirates as is my thing, and they've all been pretty good. But not amazing. None of them had the spark for me, that magic I've been looking for.
This book did.
A Riddle In Ruby is a fun, high stakes adventure. It starts off on a ship (you know that's my jam) and moves onto an alternate history version of Philadelphi. Now I don't know much about American history or actual Philadelphia but I thought the setting was awesome, and wholly unique. There was a city on top of the city! Everything about this book felt indulgent, like Kent Davis had looked into my head and seen everything I wanted in a book and stuck it all in A Riddle In Ruby. Ruby, especially, stuck out to me. I loved her so much, and Athen too. Maybe the characters were the real magic I've been looking for.
My only niggle was that this book stuck to the thing where the MC is a young girl and follows a slightly older boy, who is more intelligent and worldly and knows all, where the MC is a silly little girl who needs help. I've read many MG that have this for some reason and I thought this book had given me the same thing that makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable. But nope. Everything I thought I knew was really a secret very cleverly concealed. So I actually love everything about this. It just feels fresh and it's compelling - the villain is interesting and doesn't fall into the same old villainous tropes, there are metal animals (!!!), dastardly sailors, and a very serious riddle in Ruby that I'd like to solve.
Do yourself a favour and read it.
(But what does the series name mean, and what's with the key on the cover? What am I missing? I'm so excited to get answers!!!)
This book did.
A Riddle In Ruby is a fun, high stakes adventure. It starts off on a ship (you know that's my jam) and moves onto an alternate history version of Philadelphi. Now I don't know much about American history or actual Philadelphia but I thought the setting was awesome, and wholly unique. There was a city on top of the city! Everything about this book felt indulgent, like Kent Davis had looked into my head and seen everything I wanted in a book and stuck it all in A Riddle In Ruby. Ruby, especially, stuck out to me. I loved her so much, and Athen too. Maybe the characters were the real magic I've been looking for.
My only niggle was that this book stuck to the thing where the MC is a young girl and follows a slightly older boy, who is more intelligent and worldly and knows all, where the MC is a silly little girl who needs help. I've read many MG that have this for some reason and I thought this book had given me the same thing that makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable. But nope. Everything I thought I knew was really a secret very cleverly concealed. So I actually love everything about this. It just feels fresh and it's compelling - the villain is interesting and doesn't fall into the same old villainous tropes, there are metal animals (!!!), dastardly sailors, and a very serious riddle in Ruby that I'd like to solve.
Do yourself a favour and read it.
(But what does the series name mean, and what's with the key on the cover? What am I missing? I'm so excited to get answers!!!)
Characters ★★★★★
Setting/world-building ★★★★★
Stop reviewing so many books that look so interesting!! How am I supposed to stop myself from buying them all????
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