43. Ruby Red - Kerstin Gier

Translated from German by Anthea Bell
1st in a Trilogy
Henry Holt & Co., 2011 (2009 in Germany)
HC $16.99
330 pgs.
Rating:  4

Another vampire-less story in the genre of paranormal fiction for young adults.  Alchemy and science seem to be the basis of a gene that only passes through the years to twelve people, and although Gwyneth's snobby cousin, Charlotte, has been trained for the time traveling ability that the gene produces, it's the unsuspecting Gwyneth that got it.

An average teenager in upper class contemporary London, after the first unexpected time-traveling episode Gwen's life will never be the same.  Although it's all supposed to be top-top secret, she's share the secret with her best friend, who loves the mystery of it all, and researches every kind of clue that Gwen can give her on the internet.  This adds a really fun element - and there's quite a bit of subtle humor throughout.  And, OF COURSE, there's the irresistibly handsome young man that is her time-traveling sidekick/companion.  Gideon deVilliers is two years older than Gwyneth, and, unlike her, has been trained in manners, habits, and skills of the centuries they will be visiting.

I read all 330 pages in one afternoon/evening.  My one complaint is that throughout the first half of the story, the protagonist truly seems like a younger girl, a middle-schooler instead of a high-schooler.  She starts thinking a little older as the story progresses, but I had to change my thinking and attitude toward her,'cause she really did appear to be very young.  And it's not really a Twilight clone!

(HIGHLIGHT THE INVISIBLE FOR SECRETS) The prologue and epilogue totally give away one of the secrets (that the runaway Lucy and Paul are her parents), but that's okay. And you figure out immediately that the Count Saint-Germaine is evil, manipulative, power-hungry.  The book stops abruptly, making you wait for the further adventures of Gwyneth and Gabriel. 

I found it interesting once in awhile to flip back to the male and female lines of descent, which can be found on pages 141 and 203.