Ruby in the Sky by Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo - HIGH

Ruby in the Sky by Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo, 295 pages.  Farrar Straus Giroux  (Macmillan), 2019. $17.  

Content: Language: G: Mature Content: G; Violence: G.  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH  

12yo Ruby and her mother move to a new town in Vermont, and Ruby thinks she can remain invisible until she is certain her mother will move them again.  But when Ruby goes to school, she meets Ahmad, a recent Syrian refugee, who befriends her. Ruby also meets a woman down the street named Abigail who teaches Ruby how to feed the birds.  When Ruby’s mother gets in trouble with the law, Ruby is certain they will move, but her mother decides to stand up and fight for herself, and Ruby has to learn to do the same.  

This synopsis doesn’t do the book justice.  Ruby is an endearing character and her coming of age story is heartbreaking and tender.  Abigail and Ahmad are inspiring and help Ruby to learn to stand up for herself while finding a place to belong.  I was engaged in the story from the beginning and cried in the end.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson