BOOK REVIEW: A Riddle in Ruby by Kent Davis

BLURB:

Ruby is a thief-in-training and a keeper of secrets—even secrets she herself doesn’t know. In a whirlwind of action and humor, she careens through an alternate colonial America, both hunting for answers and being hunted. The first book in a witty and fast-paced fantasy-adventure trilogy for fans of 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 has she known that her whole life has been spent in hiding from nefarious secret societies and the Royal Navy . . . who are both now on her tail. 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. The first in a trilogy.

REVIEW BY: Michaela, age 11 years, 3 months

MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:

I LOVE this book!!! If you like fake pirates, impostors and people who turn in to objects, then you will also love this book! 

My favorite part is when Ruby meets Lord Athen because she is scared that he will find out that she was dressed up as a boy and trying to rob him and he cut her under the eye.  

My favorite character is Ruby because she is strong and doesn't give up easily and that reminds me of myself. 

This book has a cliffhanger in every single chapter! 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 10-12.  

This book's publishing date was September 22, 2015.