The Ruby Notebook - Hardcover

Resau, Laura

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385736533 ISBN 13: 9780385736534

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2010

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Zeeta and her flighty English-teaching mom, Layla, have traveled the world together, settling in a different country every year, making a whole new set of friends and adopting new customs. This year, they’ve chosen to live in Aix-en-Provence, France, an enchanting city full of fountains, creamy yellow light, and a fascinating group of scarlet-clad street performers.
Zeeta soon begins to receive mysterious notes and gifts from someone she calls her fantôme, or ghost, admirer. But she is expecting her boyfriend, Wendell—the love of her life, as her friends call him—to arrive in Aix for a summer program very soon. Zeeta brushes off her curiosity about her fantôme, and her simmering attraction to one of the street performers, Jean-Claude, until Wendell arrives and she begins to fear that her feelings for him have truly changed. Perhaps—like Layla—she’s simply not made for long-term romance.
As Zeeta tries to draw away from Wendell, however, circumstances seem to force them together. Zeeta’s friendship with a local antiques dealer and his reclusive artist friend leads to a dangerous adventure. When Zeeta and Wendell join forces to find a secret underground spring whose water is rumored to bring immortality, they are forced to reconsider their own desires, and their beliefs about true love. Yet as soon as Zeeta decides that her mind has cleared, she’s confronted with the biggest shock of her life: the incredible true identity of her fantôme.
Vibrant, warmhearted, and evocative, The Ruby Notebook is a remarkable novel about learning to accept love in all of its wondrous and imperfect forms.

About this title

About the Author

Laura Resau lived in the Mixtec region of Oaxaca, Mexico, for two years as an English teacher and anthropologist. She now lives with her husband, her dog, and her son, Bran, in Colorado, where she teaches cultural anthropology and ESL (English as a Second Language). She is also the author of What the Moon Saw, available from Yearling, and Red Glass, The Indigo Notebook, and Star in the Forest, all available from Delacorte Press.

Reviews

Gr 9 Up–In this sequel to The Indigo Notebook (Delacorte, 2009), Zeeta and her single mother, who have spent each of Z's 16 years in a different country, are teaching English and making friends in Aix-en-Provence. Z always buys a new notebook in each country and fills it with observations, thoughts, dreams, and the answers to questions she asks people. As a way of making friends and getting to know her new country, she interviews people everywhere she goes. France is proving to be most intriguing: Z befriends an elderly couple who offer her a mystery to solve; the love of her life, Wendell, is flying in to spend time with her; she becomes smitten with a young street performer; and she is suddenly being given meaningful gifts by an anonymous admirer. With a hint of mystery, a bit of romance, a touch of travel, and some coming-of-age, this book covers a lot of ground without ever feeling scattered or haphazard. Resau's robust descriptions give readers a good picture of France and its people. Although one can guess where the plot is headed, teens will still want to go along for the ride, so enjoyable is the writing. The pace can be slow at times, even when Z and Wendell are sneaking about in tunnels below the town, trying to solve the mystery. But anyone who enjoys detailed settings and thoughtful narratives will be rewarded with this story.Geri Diorio, The Ridgefield Library, CT
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Sixteen-year-old Zeeta, first met in The Indigo Notebook (2009), has lived in 16 countries; she and her peripatetic artist mother, Layla, move every year. In this volume, they land in beautiful Aix en Provence, France, where Zeeta looks forward to spending the summer with her American boyfriend, Wendell, who has signed up for a study program. Then Zeeta meets gorgeous, enigmatic Jean-Claude, and when Wendell arrives, she splits things off in her confusion. Once again, Resau adds shimmering dimensions of magic realism; here, underground springs fabled to bestow immortality are an undercurrent to both the city and the story. Resau relies on contrivances to knit her numerous plot strands, particularly one involving Zeeta’s search for her never-met father. But readers will enjoy the endearing, unconventional characters, including free-spirited Layla (“If she quotes Rumi again, I’ll scream,” Zeeta says), and they will be easily caught by the lyrical prose, the “soft, honeyed air” of the seductive setting, and Zeeta’s passionate questions about life and romance: “What sets your soul on fire?” “Can love last a lifetime?” Grades 7-11. --Gillian Engberg

Edition details

• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385736533
• ISBN 13: 9780385736534
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384