The Beat on Ruby's Street ~ Jenna Zark

The Beat on Ruby's Street by Jenna Zark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Beat on Ruby's Street was an interesting novel about a young girl in that "tween" stage of life. Ruby is a rebel with a cause and poetic soul. I think she thinks she is misunderstood throughout the novel by her peers, parents and other adult figures. But this is the view of a child. Zark keeps true to this period peace, when protests of war are high and the arts (poetry and painting) are taboo. In The Beat on Ruby's street we follow young Ruby through many acts of childhood rebelliousness. Everything Ruby does is for "the cause." At times I thought Ruby was being way disrespectful, but Zark reminds us of the time period and gives up parental clues of who raised Ruby. Ruby is a product of the streets and not meaning this in a harsh or bad way. She was well cared for by her parents but not in a way that the majority of society would approve, but she was not from a bad home. In my opinion this book shows that it does take a village to raise a child who could think for herself and fight for what she truly believed in.

Zark gives us a view from a child's perspective but this is no childish book. I appreciate the way she makes the novel flow and tells the story as if it were a movie or play in front of our eyes. This could easily be turned into a Ruby series and I hope Zark continues to write with such feeling and abandonment. I really dug this novel and look forward to reading many more by Jenna Zark.

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