A Ruby Unscripted: Life Is What Happens When You Lose the Script

Ruby's finding out that life is all about improv . . .

Small-town girl Ruby Madden has moved to Marin County, California; home of high-dollar homes and green living. The girls wear shoes that cost more than her entire paycheck at the Underground Coffeehouse & Theater, and the students are well-traveled and full of life experiences that Ruby can only dream of.

All the stresses of adjusting to her new life have put a strain on her ability to trust God. Yet when mysterious and eye-catching Kaden invites Ruby to join the school's film group, the puzzle pieces start to fit. Her love of art finds perfect expression and the film friends seem to really get her. When a major Hollywood director hosts an amateur film contest, Ruby and her friends are stoked.

But Ruby's old life is tugging her backward and her frantic balancing act throws her new life totally off track. To top things off, Ruby makes a mistake that could cost her the chance of a lifetime.

Life would be so much easier if Ruby just had a script to follow with a happy ending guaranteed. But what's the fun in that?

Grade 7–10—Fifteen-year-old Ruby, her mom, her new stepfather, and her younger brother move to Marin County, CA, just before school begins. Her older brother, on whom she depends, has decided to stay in Cottonwood, several hours away, with their father and stepmother. Ruby feels alone and is upset with her parents for divorcing. Even though her Christian family is religious, she questions the nature of faith, and she struggles to make sense of her situation. Marin High is filled with students who are rich and privileged. While working part-time at her aunt's Underground Coffeehouse & Theater, she joins a group of film students who are making a movie, and her enthusiasm is ignited. Throughout the novel, Ruby remains reflective, and she begins to resolve her conflicted feelings about the past and the present. Readers will enjoy this comforting and current coming-of-age story.—Lori A. Guenthner, Baltimore County Public Library, Randallstown, MD
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