Thanks for the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get into it and so will pass on purchasing this for my library. I will not post any negative reviews so as to not skew this book's rating.

A fun school story for fans of Ramona the Pest and Judy Moody. And of course as a librarian, I love that Ruby loves books!

Ruby Starr is a vivacious ten year old that has a vivid imagination. The thing she loves the most is books. Her imagination often runs wild pretending that she is a character in a book. At first Ruby is excited when a new girl joins their class. She even goes out of her way to make the new girl feel welcome. But then Ruby starts to feel like she is being slowly pushed aside by her group, and suddenly Ruby has mixed emotions about the new girl and her longtime group of friends. Kids will love reading about Ruby and the ups and downs of friendship in middle school. Parents will love the message about maintaining a positive attitude and outlook on life and friendships. I would recommend this book to young readers age 8+.

I received this as a free ARC from Sourcebooks Jabberwocky on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My daughter is a rising 2nd grader and loved this book! It is so funny and made her laugh out loud on many occasions. She's excited to read more from this series and author! I liked the message behind the story about friendships and navigating the social world of grade school. Really great read! Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Jabberwocky for the ARC!

The premise of the story is good. I had a tough time getting into the reading though.

Ruby Starr loves getting lost in a good book. She even has a lunchtime book group with her BFFs at school: The Unicorns! Things change when Charlotte, the new girl in school, shows up and starts making big changes: she scoffs at reading and wants to make The Unicorns a drama club, and she's spending more and more time with Ruby's best friend, Siri. Ruby needs to dig deep into her imagination to help bring things back to normal again.

Part Secret Life of Walter Mitty, part Dork Diaries, Ruby Starr is a lovable new protagonist for middle grade readers. She daydreams scenarios to help her cope with the everyday frustrations - or imagine exciting outcomes for upcoming events - and zones out while she's doing it, making for some giggleworthy moments throughout the story. The imagination sequences are illustrated, letting readers in on the joke. The stress of friendship - and losing it - will resonate with middle graders, as will the fear of being the outsider in the group; Ruby handles these challenges with humor and style, even reaching out to her frenemy and offering a helping hand. I loved seeing a nice librarian-student relationship, too; maybe the author can give us a Ruby Starr/Unicorns reading list to promote to our kids!

Ruby Starr is a fun entry into the humorous journal fiction sub-genre. Give this to your Dork Diaries, My Dumb Diary, and Frazzled (by Booki Vivat) readers. Ask them to draw an imaginary scenario for themselves! There's a reader's guide on Deborah Lytton's author webpage, along with an author Q&A and link to her blog.

I wasn't unable to get into this book.
My eight year old daughter enjoyed it, but said that it was too much like Junie B Jones books. She felt like she was reading a kind of knock off version.
She still liked parts of it, and easily identified with Ruby.
This book was given three stars.

This was a cute book and I enjoyed it very much! I noticed it doesn't have many reviews on goodreads yet so I will be posting my review on their soon soon soon.

"Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Ruby Starr. (That's me.) Here are some things you should know..."
1. Ruby loves books!
"I breathe in the smell of the library – old books and new books. It is comforting and exciting.” (Ruby Starr) Ruby's passion is books and when something puts her book club in jeopardy her emotions grip at your heart. Many book lovers out there will relate to Ruby and the smell of the library.
2. Ruby often doesn’t think when she says things.
No matter how old we are we all experience this at some point in life...poor Ruby did this many times, landing her in trouble not only with others but her conscience as well.
5. Ruby has three best friends - Siri, Jessica, and Daisy.
Ruby's friends are precious to her and when a new girl Charlotte arrives in Ruby's class her whole friendship world is turned upside down. Ruby must navigate these feelings and go on an unexpected journey to learn not only about herself but also to learn that what is on the surface may only be a trickle of what is on the inside.
Like any school friends at this age the fracture of a relationship feels like the end of the word and Ruby puts it best by saying “…it tugs on my heart, like it’s stretching it to pull off a piece, like you do with liquorice. You have to pull and stretch it before it breaks off.”

The author has done a fantastic job at writing this book and capturing the feelings of the characters well when they hit a crisis. So many emotions are felt throughout this books, some of which are excitement, happiness, and a calmness. Then there are feelings like Ruby Starr mentions… "My head suddenly seems swollen, as if it's a giant balloon that is going to lift me into the sky so I can fly away from here. Then I realize it's because my eyes are filled with tears, I sniffle them back and swallow hard. I want to go to the nurse's office and tell her I have a bad stomach-ache. (it wouldn't even be a lie. My stomach does really hurt.) But I don't. Because my favourite characters never run away from their problem. They face them." This is a profoundly, moving paragraph that teaches us all about being strong. I love that the author shows us that despite Ruby’s tears she is strong in her actions. As I write this on International women's day 2017 I think this is a great message for a book to be sharing with readers of today.

The author has developed the characters well and we get to know Ruby’s friends Siri, Jessica, daisy and some of the boys such as the two Will’s, and the newcomer Charlotte. While there is a lot we still don’t know about these characters, I felt we knew enough for this story. Character development for Ruby’s family is explored more and by the end of the book I felt we knew a lot about them. As the series grows there is room for the development of the characters, giving the author a large scope to work with.

Some of what Ruby experienced or had to say left me wanting to continually share statements on social media (waiting...waiting until publication is closer), some of what was spoken in the book are not only great statements for middle graders but adults too. When a book leaves you wanting to share it with everyone you know that it has been written well, and while sometimes the tone of the book was tiring for me, I know young readers will relate to this book because it’s what happens in friendships and relationships in the school grounds and did when I was a child.

I will be recommending Ruby Starr to young readers and I leave you with a realisation from Ruby Starr "I also realise something: This story wasn't about Charlotte like I thought it was the day she walked into room 15. It was about me."

This book will be enjoyed by readers by those in elementary school. The books story touches on what many you kids experience at this awkward age. The story was well written and really showed Ruby's imagination.