Book Review... Ruby Unscripted by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma

Thursday August 21, 2005

Ruby Unscripted
by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma
Released May 5, 2009
Ruby Madden moves to an affluent town in Marin County, California, believing her dreams are coming true, but her hometown life is drawing her back. Her not-so-secret crush finally likes her. Her older brother decides to stay behind with their newly remarried father. And her best friend gets a boyfriend who's all wrong for her.

And Ruby's new life isn't as easy as she envisioned. Marin High School is a place for the rich and famous with their BMWs, chic clothes, and liberal beliefs-a place where she clearly doesn't belong. Even with her new job at the Underground Coffeehouse & Cinema, she is unsure of how to act and feels insecure about who she is.

When she tries out for an amateur film group, the puzzle pieces finally begin to fit. And who is this mysterious guy who's messing with her heart?

This is one of those books that just leaves you smiling when you're finished! Ruby is a character I immediately bonded with...she could be any girl you went to high school with, the girl next door who is dealing with stuff most teens deal with today. Her parents are divorced and her mom is moving to a new town. All Ruby wants is for things to go back the way they used to be.

There are a few perks to her new home... there's a boy (there is ALWAYS a boy :) and her new job at her aunts coffee place. At school she gets teased for being a goody goody and for going to church but even good girls make mistakes. Ruby ends up at a party that her mother would freak out about if she knew she was there.

All in all a beautifully written Christian novel that is uplifting and heartwarming with out being heavy handed. In fact the author is so subtle that I had to double check to see if the book was listed as "Christian fiction" which is great because sometimes kids think these kinds of books will be corny. They will never guess...they will just read a well written, very engaging, positive story about a teenage girl who learns to lean on God and her family when dealing with her problems.

Perfectly suited for 6th grade and up!

4 points