Wisecracking, code-cracking girl detective Ruby Redfort gets an unexpected taste of the action in her fifth fast-paced adventure.
Ruby Redfort: You can count on her if you're between a rock and a hard place. A bite from a poisonous snake? Pass me the antivenom. Need someone to take the fall? You don't even have to ask. Stay one step ahead of trouble? Not so easy. There are always snakes to look out for, but they aren't half as poisonous as the rumors floating around Twinford. It's a lot to chew over. Will Ruby pull through in one piece? When trouble's out to get you and being smart is not enough, do you run like crazy, or is it time to brush up on your martial arts?
1 of 1 copy available
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
April 11, 2017 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780763693947
- File size: 7588 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780763693947
- File size: 7795 KB
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 5.7
- Lexile® Measure: 800
- Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
- Text Difficulty: 3-4
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Reviews
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February 15, 2017
In the series' penultimate adventure, the whip-smart, code-cracking teen spy for the secret Spectrum agency takes on venomous snakes, traitors, and evildoers but is helpless against poisonous rumors circulating at school.Out of loyalty, Ruby took the rap for classmates whose fight summoned the cops; now she's grounded, sentenced to community service, and forced to babysit Archie Lemon, age 1. After solving many cases for Spectrum, she's suddenly frozen out of important briefings; do they think she's the suspected mole? Her quick action saves a querulous neighbor's snake-bitten dog but nets her only his abuse. No good deed goes unpunished, but the white 13-year-old isn't about to give up sleuthing. There's something weird about billboards advertising a new soft drink; investigating leads Ruby to familiar foes. Set in 1972 Southern California, the series, by an English author, has a 1950s sensibility (typical exclamations and epithets include "jeepers" and "Sam Hill"). The cellphone- and computer-free cultural ambiance is refreshing, but although the once-cartoonish characters have deepened over the series, their largely all-white world hasn't evolved. It's Little Lulu and Archie territory--no Vietnam War or cultural upheaval here. However dated, the ingenious puzzles and humor, especially in dialogue among Ruby and her peers, remain highlights. Still, slow pacing, frequent digressions, and unsentimental, bone-dry humor may challenge U.S. readers used to nonstop action and a straight plot throughline. Rewards await persistent readers: sly satire, quirky detail, and a smart, opinionated heroine brimming with ebullient self-esteem. (afterword) (Mystery. 9-14)COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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January 1, 2018
The popular code-cracking teenage spy returns for another adventure, this one involving poisonous snakes, traitors, and vicious rumors. Ruby adds martial arts and the ability to see in four dimensions to her skill set, but otherwise the series formula is the same: expect suspense, witty dialogue, and intriguing puzzles, along with occasional uneven pacing and rambling moments.(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
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