Ruby Electric

by Theresa Nelson

When the lights go dim and you're sitting in the dark with your popcorn -- that's the magic time that Ruby Miller loves best. And then the music creeps in, and the lion roars, or maybe the moon kid goes fishing....
For Ruby, age twelve and a half, movies are better than real life. The ones she writes, why, those are the best of all. Those stories work out. The dads in her movies always show up when they've promised. The moms don't hold on to secrets. The little brothers don't curl up with sorrow over some missing stuffed animal. All right, it's Ruby's fault he's missing.
But the terrible red-painted graffiti on the concrete riverbanks -- it that her fault too? She's blamed for it. And here she is on a chain gang with two stupid classmates -- the Dumb and Dumber of the Hayes Middle School -- doing community service to make up for it.
If she were writing the script, the setup would be intriguing, the middle exciting, and the ending a complete and happy surprise. She has seven pages ready for Spielberg. But real life keeps interrupting.

Genres: Childrens, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Family, Fiction, Contemporary

272 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2003

Reviews

[Qt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't what I was expecting, but it was much better; I was surprised by how much I liked it! The subject is serious, but it never gets heavy or gloomy--instead, the overall tone is light and frequently humorous. I love all the details. Also, there are many beautifully done lines that were very moving. After the first few chapters I got quite into it and had a hard time putting it down. (At first it was a little hard to follow, since Ruby's screenplays are often interspersed with the story.)

I was expecting it to be more focused on movies (which is why I started it); there are more than a few mentions of films and actors, and we do get to read parts of Ruby's screenplays, and the chapters often start with a screenplay-style opening (for example, "CUT TO the interior of her bedroom," etc.) But it wasn't as movie-focused as I'd expected. Not that that really matters, though.

Also, I don't think the jacket blurb does the book justice. I picked it up intending to, well, skim through it for the movie references, because the synopsis didn't sound that appealing. But it really did turn out to be very interesting, and I'm glad I read it!

[Cory · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this story well enough, and I loved Ruby's little brother. However, this was one of those books that, to me, is somehow out of step. I ostensibly takes place in modern times, with references to cell phones and other things that we have now. But the characters, the dialogue, and the feel of the story all seem to be from the middle of the last century. Are you trying to tell me that two middle school boys in this century love John Wayne and reference him on an everyday basis? And that some kid would be called "Big Skinny" by everyone and roam the neighborhood like the 50's version of a street thug? If this had been a historical fiction book, I would have been totally on board, but something about it just seemed out of step.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pulled this out at the library because it was next to the book I was grabbing for my 10 year old (Secret of NIMH), and as a movie-lover myself, I was intrigued by the premise. I really enjoyed it, despite not being its target audience, and laughed out loud several times. It's not quite at Judy Blume levels for perfectly capturing adolescence, but it sure hit on a lot of things that I remember being confused/annoyed/hurt by at that age.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm surprised at how this book seemed to just fade away at the ending. We spend over 200 pages inside Ruby's head, deducing and planning and assuming and puzzling--and when she get's answers, the connection is cut and we are staring at an uncertain conclusion. There were things left unanswered and shrugged away. I was hoping for a less foggy ending than that.

[Liesl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started off not liking the book too much, but after a slow start it does get better. The reason is the book begins by focusing on Ruby yet she's not an interesting character and I was pretty indifferent most of the time, and disliking her at others, and found having her screenwriting scenes in the middle of what's actually happening rather distracting, and ended up skipping them altogether. What makes the book work are all the other characters which we start to learn more about after we have our our Ruby introduction. Every one of them is interesting and more multidimensional than Ruby. I cared about them all, understood why they did the stupid things they did, and my eyes welled-up when they did something sweet. Any time we got to focus on them rather than Ruby the book was enjoyable--when she showed back up I literally groaned.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grabbed this off a shelf at the library this week and half way through realized that I had read it before. The book isn't bad but obviously wasn't all that memorable since I didn't remember I had read it before! The scripts Ruby writes in her head during the book start as an amusing side note and simply turn into a distraction. I just skipped them and read the narrative. The entire book could have used a little more humor and a bit of cutting to whittle it down a bit.

For grades 5-7 but not necessarily recommended. It would take a unique kid to like this book.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruby's parents are divorced and she misses her dad. Two geeky boys get her in trouble and they have to do community service together. To forget about her miserable existence, Ruby writes and sees the world as a grand movie, until she finally sees people for who they really are and learns to appreciate her friends and the life she has. Ok. Not great.

[Leiabr · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a little hard to get used to the POV used - present tense but not first person, which I find a little slow. Anyway, it was boring at the beginning, but when it focused more on Big Skinny and Mouse, I really got into it and couldn't stop reading. It was humorous and serious at the same time. It's so cute how Big Skinny is obsessed with Ruby. :)

[Mary T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I  loved this book and I really fell in love with the characters. I think it teaches a great lesson and the story is real captivating. If you like the genre realistic fiction and like medium length books, this is the one for you. Only 261 pages long very easy to understand with 5-7 grade vocabulary. This book was also recommended by bookleggers

[Madeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok so, this is in the POMS( if u know what poms is u r cool) library and the librarian told me it wuz so funny! so i checked it out and shes like its lol funny! weel it wuznt at all i got to page thirty and couldnt even force my self to read it




there fore i dont recomendit

[Sarah Tilatitsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so sad. Wait, it's very sad. Ruby had to wait for her father to come, but is dissapointed that he doesn't show up. Then, everything changes with her imagination and her love of movies. Like, the mural. I won't get into too much detail, so you should read it.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

YA. Drawn in purely by the book jacket.

[Cws]

JAR4-Nel

[Rishmi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well I havnt really read it completely. I've read teh first few chapters and I hated it. Ah well, I guess thats just not a Me Book.

[Morgen · Rating 4 out of 5]

suprisingly good, seeing as i put off reading it for a year beforehand.

[Ms. B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful and heartwarming story! For readers who don't mind a book that takes its time.

[Jessica (Goldenfurpro)]

I read this a bunch of years ago for a book report
I forgot all about it until now!