Ruby Parker Hits the Small Time

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY FEB 26, 2007

A thin layer of show-biz dazzle lends some sparkle to this comfortably predictable coming-of-age tale. Every year since she was six, Ruby, now 13, has appeared in the wildly popular (and fictional) English soap opera Kensington Heights. She also attends a performing arts school, where she and her best friend, Nydia, inhabit a middling social stratum, looked down on by Anne-Marie (who "looks just the same as everyone else: tall, thin, and blonde") and the rest of the cool crowd. Several events shake Ruby out of this routine: something's not right between her parents (it turns out they are getting separated) and she believes she's about to be dropped from the show, when in fact the writers are expanding her story line and giving her the chance for her first-ever kiss (on- or off-screen) with her longtime crush. Anxiety about this on-air smooch leads Ruby and Nydia to draft the dreaded Anne-Marie as kissing coach which leads to positive changes to the girls' social standing. Adhering firmly to the conventions of the genre, true romance comes about for Ruby only when she opens her eyes to the charms of the boy next door. No show-stopping surprises here, but Ruby's perky first-person narration will likely be a hit with her target audience, who may well be pleased to see that Coleman leaves the stage door open for sequels. Ages 12-up.