David Lawrence (text) and Cherie Dignam (illustrator), Ruby and the pen, EK Books, July 2023, 280 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922539380
Ruby buys a pen that gives her the power to fix all of her problems, only to discover that power comes with its own problems.
Ruby’s life is filled with challenges – mostly from the awful people all around her. There’s her mother’s new boyfriend, ‘Dodgy Dave’, who bullies her mother and sends Ruby off to boarding school. Worse, her new school is full of bullies, too. But Ruby escapes into her world of drawings which shut out the chaos around her.
When she discovers her new fountain pen has a magical force, life turns a corner as whatever she draws actually happens.
Using the pen to get to the bottom of Dave’s dodgy dealings, upending mean teachers and the school bullies and the secrets between the new headmaster and local councilman, there comes a point where Ruby must take action herself. But the pen’s power has become strong – dangerous even, – and Ruby must make a choice between the pen or her best friend, Fav.
While the plot is predictable in places and the baddies a little typecast, I did warm to Ruby and the sense of humour that keeps the meanness all around her light. The illustrations are fun, with Ruby’s goofiness shining through which makes this book a great transition book for emerging readers moving off junior fiction books.
Reviewed by Stef Gemmill
