Ruby in the Sky

December 15, 2018
Ruby, Dahlia, Abigail, and Ahmad are all challenged to do the right thing in this debut novel. After the sudden death of her father, Ruby and her mother, Dahlia, change cities several times before settling in Fortin, Vermont. On the first day of work, Dahlia stands up for herself against her bully employer and files a claim against him with the police. However, instead of justice, she finds herself arrested and potentially facing a year in prison. Stuck in Fortin, Ruby adopts the strategy of invisibility at school and works hard to avoid its traditional, much-anticipated wax-museum event, in which each sixth-grader researches and embodies a historic character for the whole town to see. She also makes two friends: Abigail, a reclusive neighbor who takes care of wild birds, lives in isolation, and is rumored in the small town to have worked with astronauts, and Ahmad, a Syrian kid who moved to the U.S. two years ago. The stories of the main characters intertwine beautifully, each one demonstrating the self-trust that enables them to do the right thing and to forgive. Writing in Ruby's voice, Ferruolo creates an engaging plot peopled with complex characters that gracefully navigate many issues of our time, including women's rights, immigration, prejudice and diversity, and bullying. Ruby, her family, and Abigail are default white.Like Michael Collins, whom Ruby settles on for her big school project, she is a quiet hero. (Fiction. 10-14)

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Starred review from February 15, 2019
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* A quiet girl finds her voice and stands up for what is right in this beautiful debut. After the death of her father, Ruby and her mother move from place to place, finally ending up in frigid Vermont. Ruby plans to stay invisible until she can convince her mom to move back to Washington, D.C., but that doesn't happen; instead, her mom reports the bad behavior of a powerful man (and friend of the mayor) and finds herself on trial for assault. Ahmad, a Syrian refugee in Ruby's class, keeps being stubbornly nice to her. And Ruby befriends a reclusive old woman named Abigail, who is the subject of ugly town gossip. As powerful men intimidate potential witnesses in her mom's case and seek to push out vagrants like Abigail, Ruby must do what she has always feared: speak up. Ferruolo's debut has a quietly magical feel, aided by passages describing Ruby's fascination with the moon. The faraway moon serves as a poignant theme throughout the book and connects satisfyingly to Abigail's backstory. The story also skillfully depicts everyday injustices and how those in power control the narrative unless ordinary people stand up against them. Ferruolo includes many examples of these brave, ordinary people, including Annie, Ruby's mom's public defender. A quiet yet powerful story about courage.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)