Ruby in the Smoke by Phillip Pullman Date of Publication: 1985, 2004 ISBN: 0439957400 Number of Pages: 209

REQUIRED READING ABILITY: Average
GENRES: Mystery, Historical Fiction
THEMES: Appearance versus Reality, Good versus Evil, Family, Revenge, Loyalty, Sacrifice and Redemption

SUMMARY:
When Sally Lockhart receives her recently-deceased father’s last message, she begins to suspect that his apparently accidental death might have been no accident. She leaves her miserable, super-controlling Aunt Caroline to visit her father’s former workplace, hoping to get some clues. Here she meets a new friend, Jim, a clerk in the business, and he offers to help her in her search. Soon after, she is introduced to one of her father’s colleagues, but her simple question about the note and its reference to “The Seven Blessings” causes that gentleman to keel over, dead of a heart attack!

With this illustrious beginning, Sally has no choice but to keep digging. She uses all her wiles and takes risks that are considered unseemly in Victorian London, but when she meets the young Frederick Garland and his sister, Rosa, her fortunes begin to turn. Together she and her friends follow the clue in the message, and as the bodies pile up, they learn that Sally’s father was murdered because he had uncovered a plot that involved smuggling Opium. Even this is not the final discovery, however, for the little group of detectives soon learn that the heart of the mystery involves a large ruby, stolen years ago in the India Mutiny, and hidden somewhere in London. As Sally puts the clues together, she discovers the final revelations lie in her memory, and that she herself holds the clue to “the ruby in the smoke.”

WHO WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK? A kid who...

• loves historical fiction
• is interested in Indian history and British Colonial rule
• loves mysteries and treasure
• likes Victorian times and stories
• likes a strong, feisty heroine
• likes unusual, creative characters
• isn’t thrown off by the odd use of dialect or obsolete language
• kids who like Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, but want something more challenging

WHAT ELSE?
This book has earned the Booklist Editor’s Choice award, the School Library Journal Best Books of the Year award, the Horn Book Fanfare award, the Library of Congress Children's Books of the Year award, the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award, and was the ALA Best Books for Young Adults winner as well. It’s full of neat plot twists, great period references, and has three sequels that feature the characters of Sally and Jim, among others.

Supplemental Non-Fiction Resource: Crystal and Gem (Eyewitness Guides)

RELATED LINK:
Author's Biography