8/01/2016

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

I had to watch the movie on TV to get so curious that I wanted to read the book and see how the writing style of this author was. And what can I say? I had my fun during reading, found a lot of things I didn´t see in the movie and after I finished Ruby Red, I had to get the others as well to see how things will continue. So yes, the movie was well done, and the books are even more fun. This trilogy is one of those, who created a huge hype in Germany and became later famous worldwide. A lot of charm, humor, and the perfect amount of irony can be found between the pages and for me, this is certainly a great way to get to know the author.

Ruby Red*

by Kerstin Gier
Ruby Red Trilogy #1
Publisher Macmillan on May 10, 2011
Genre Young Adult
Pages 336
Format Hardcover
Source Library

Goodreads

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Gwen Sheperd´s sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for travelling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwen who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwen must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon – the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwen and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

Story

Gwen considers herself average. She hasn´t inherited the red curls all of the women in her family have or had, and she has no idea of all the things her cousin Charlotte got prepared her entire life for the moment when she starts traveling through time. But not Charlotte is the one, who does a sudden spin to a different era, it is Gwen. And that causes not only a big surprise and jealousy among her family but trouble for Gwen as well. There is a huge secret no one really knows about, only one thing is sure: The blood of all twelve time-travelers is needed. And for Gwen, the question still remains why that is and why some of the time travelers refuse to give it.

Style

From Gwen´s point of view, the reader gets involved in a beautiful story full of humor, irony, and great fantasy elements. Set in present London, the protagonist lives a normal life, or at least what she considers normal. She lives in a huge house, where all the attention is focused on her beautiful cousin Charlotte, and she can live without any pressure, if you don´t count school like that, having fun with her friend and share time with her mother and siblings. Till the day she does her first-time travel and has to learn that she is the one with the special gene, not her cousin. The trouble, problems, and changes that occur with that change of plans tells the author in a very entertaining and beautiful writing style. Kerstin Gier´s language and writing style are clear, simple but effective and combined with hilarious dialogues and even more hilarious scenes.

Kerstin Gier presents in this story a lot of different characters. Each of them has its own charm – more or less. Okay, I wouldn´t want an Aunt Glenda in my life and a cousin like Charlotte is not really something you would want either. But they bring some kind of edge to the plot and how Gwen and Great-aunt Maddy stick together is really nice to watch.

Characters

Gwen is everything, her cousin Charlotte isn´t. She has lived the past sixteen years like any other normal child, had fun with her friends, went to the movies, and enjoyed the love of her siblings and parents. There was no pressure to be something special, to learn ancient fight techniques, or languages that weren´t on her school plan. And who needs those dry history lessons anyways when you just pick a DVD and watch everything you need to know in color and in a very entertaining way? Yes, she was raised in a very relaxed way and that is exactly what gives her the strength to deal with all the new things she has to face from the moment when she tells her mother, that she´s the one with the special gene. But her lack of knowledge makes things a lot more complicated than expected. 

Conclusion

This was soooooo nice. Full of fun, charm, and great dialogues. And Gwen is one heck of a great girl. Usually, I read a book first before I watch the movie. This time I did it the other way around and I can say: it is one of those exceptions where the movie is as wonderful as the book. Okay, the book is maybe a bit more fun, but if it wasn´t for the movie, I probably would have taken a lot longer to read it. So yes, I highly recommend it – the book, to be clear!

Happy reading

*I read the German edition Rubinrot-Liebe geht durch alle Zeiten by Arena.

Kerstin Gier

Kerstin Gier, born in 1966, is working as a freelance writer since 1995, and already had huge success with her first books. Meanwhile she wrote countless novels for grownups and YA, which are regularly on bestseller lists. Her Ruby Red Trilogy books became world bestsellers and were filmed with famous actors for the big screen. The DeLIA-Award winner lives with her family nearby Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.

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