Finding Ruby Starling

August 18, 2014
Rivers's (The Encyclopedia of Me) epistolary novel conveys both the unique intimacy created by writing letters (or, in this case, emails) and the thrill of discovering an unknown family member. When 12-year-old adopted New Yorker Ruth Quayle plugs a photo of herself into a search engine, she's shocked to find images of what appears to be an identical twin living in England. She sends an enthusiastic missive to the girl, Ruby Starling, who is initially skeptical but soon becomes convinced that Ruth is her sister. Both girls get migraines and find small spaces comforting, but otherwise their lives are very different. Ruth writes poems and is working on an animated documentary with her best friend; Ruby is into fashion, crushing on a pop star, and prone to panic attacks since her grandmother died. The two make plans to meet, but are nervous to discover why they were separated. Amid a flood of escalating emotions, the emails exchanged among the girls and their friends and parents blend to create a lively chorus of voices. Ages 10â14.

May 15, 2014
A separated-at-birth story for the digital age.After plugging photos of herself into FaceTrace (a fake but plausible Google-like image search), American Ruth Quayle, age 12 2/3, discovers that she might have an identical-and stylish-twin sister in England named Ruby Starling. Just imagine: "The very same set of cells! But with an accent! And good fashion sense!" Through a series of "amazeog" and "totes" expressive emails and a few letters that use conversational slang from their respective cultures, the girls explore the possibility with each other and close friends before approaching their families. While their communications voice typical preteen concerns, such as finding best friends, whether they're ready to kiss boys and not wanting their parents to treat them like children anymore, it becomes increasingly emotional as Ruth wonders about the how and why of their situation. Adopted and given a transplant heart soon after birth, Ruth can't help but feel unbearable anger and sadness toward a biological mother who gave her away. With the help of her "real" parents, her father's attempts to "Buddhify [her] life," her poetry tumblr and a newfound sister (and best friend), she finds forgiveness and an expanded circle of love. And maybe boys are kissable after all!Totes bittersweet. (Fiction. 10-13)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 5-8-After doing an image search on herself, Ruth Quayle finds pictures of a girl who looks like her double. Ruby Starling is also 12 3/4, but unlike Ruth, living in America with adoptive parents, she lives in England with her birth mother. The novel is told in a series of emails between the girls and to and from their friends and families.The emails are full of slang that works for both girls' cultures and feels surprisingly authentic. Interspersed with the emails are Ruth's poems, posted to her Tumblr page, and Ruby's handwritten letters to her dead Gran. Readers travel through the emotional journey of discovering an unknown twin while trying to navigate the normal tween life of best friends and maybe boyfriends. Both girls have trouble understanding why their mother kept Ruby and gave up Ruth but in the end find that reconciliation is possible. The emotional content of the novel comes through in a genuine and natural way; readers will feel for each girl as they discover each other and the truths about themselves. The other characters are only lightly sketched, but their relationships to the twins add depth to the readers' understanding of the girls. Overall, a fun book for middle graders.-Genevieve Feldman, San Francisco Public Library

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2014
Twins separated at birth, a neonatal heart transplant, and the death of a beloved grandmother--it all sounds a bit much, but Rivers pulls it off in this epistolary, dual-narrator story. Ruth, an American twelve-year-old, e-finds her identical twin, Ruby, in England. As with any novel in letters (in this case emails, handwritten notes to the dead grandmother, and the occasional Tumblr posting), voice is everything, and Ruth and Ruby have distinctive, convincing, and highly entertaining writing styles, sparkly with (albeit already dated) slang. Ruth's compliment to her parents: "you are totes amazeballs." Ruby's dismissal of the male species: "wazzocks." Ruth is especially adept with metaphor: "like being punched in the gut by a clown holding particularly interesting balloons." Subplots abound, including the backstory of two complicated families, secrets piled on secrets, and the tricky territory of a boy Ruth likes but doesn't like-like. Glued together with our fascination concerning identical twins (what's nature? what's nurture?), it is all cunningly choreographed into the central engaging and suspenseful story of two sisters who find each other mid-childhood. Hectic, highly textured, and good-natured without being soppy. sarah ellis

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2015
In this epistolary, dual-narrator story, Ruth, an American twelve-year-old, e-finds her identical twin, Ruby, in England. As with any novel in letters (in this case emails, handwritten notes, and the occasional Tumblr posting), voice is everything, and Ruth and Ruby have distinctive, convincing, and entertaining writing styles. Subplots abound, including the backstory of two complicated families. Hectic, highly textured, and good-natured without being soppy.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)