Data Finished: Jan 7, 2010
Summary: Ruby's mother died and now Ruby has been sent to her famous movie star father all the way in Los Angeles. She has to adjust to the weather, the traffic, and being followed by the paparazzi. She's thinking about her boyfriend, her best friend, and all the strange but friendly kids at school. However, she can't forgive her father for deserting her as a little girl.
Likes: This is a pretty interesting premise to me. I don't think I've read a story about this subject matter before and it was really entertaining. It was a quick read, which worked and didn't work for me. What worked was the characters, especially all the famous kids at Ruby's school. I wanted to know more about them and get to know them more. I wanted to know more about Ruby and her mom, even though the glimpses we do help. I wanted to especially know more about Ruby and her father and a little more about her father's secret.
Dislikes: I don't think the poem form works for me in this novel. There are some heavy ideas and themes with interesting characters and situations that the poem form doesn't do justice. Or rather, the poem isn't used to it's maximum potential. The ending seems a little gimmicky. I can understand the situation, but for the character to forgive her father that easily is strange. I would rather have where the father's secret was revealed earlier and the rest of the story was of Ruby coming to terms with her father's lifestyle. The story just wallows along and saves that until the end to the point where it's not even relevant or interesting anymore.
Overall: Interesting premise, but I'm not in love with the format. It's cute but at the end of the day, it lacks the depth I'm looking for because the format makes it such a quick read. Things aren't very subtle either, so the depth isn't gleaned from reading between the lines or what goes unsaid. The story is pretty straightforward though, though the ending isn't really satisfying.
