  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 04/01/2015 Gr 4–8—Ruth Mudd-O'Flaherty has two mothers and Charlotte has two dads. This similarity brought their families together and Ruth and Charlotte have been best friends ever since. But middle school has created some challenges in their relationship. Charlotte is now more interested in being friends with cool Melinda, the mean girl, than Ruth. Feeling alone, Ruth finds comfort in her local library where she volunteers. She discovers hidden notes with intriguing riddles and begins her quest to find the answer to these mysterious clues. She soon realizes that she can't do this alone and will need the help of others. She must consider opening her mind and heart to some of the clever characters who surround her. The novel spotlights numerous middle school worries including bras, boy-girl parties, and getting your period for the first time. Ruth is a smart, spunky character whose quest for friendship feels authentic. VERDICT A must-have selection for middle school mystery lovers.—Helen Foster James, University of California at San Diego - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Bulletin for the Center... - 09/01/2015 Middle-schooler Ruth is okay with being a lone wolf now that former best friend Charlotte has ditched her for the popular mean girl Melinda; after all, Ruth still has her two mothers, Mom and Mum, and her beloved fantasy books about a half-girl/half-elf knight, Taryn Greenbottom. When Ruth discovers an envelope with a mysterious message hidden in a library book, she’s certain it’s the start of her own quest in her small Maine town; a budding friendship brings bold, iconoclastic Lena in on the sleuthing as well. Meanwhile, Ruth is also studying for the school spelling bee with her sweet (and sweet on her) classmate, Coco (a nickname for Christopher), and Coco and his sci-fi-loving pals soon expand the group of questers. Will Ruth win the spelling bee, finish the quest, and win back Charlotte’s friendship? The answers are more complex than one might expect, and that is one of the book’s strengths. The multiple threads are adroitly handled by Blakemore, and readers who sign on for the quest story may be surprisingly absorbed by the nuanced portrait of a (mostly) happily introverted middle-schooler as well. Melinda is a fairly two-dimensional villain, but Charlotte’s and Ruth’s dynamics and Ruth’s relationships with her moms are refreshingly complicated, and the book ends without things being completely patched up between the former friends. Kids who like Balliett’s Chasing Vermeer (BCCB 7/04) or Raskin’s The Westing Game (BCCB 9/78) will enjoy this, and fantasy fans will find a comrade in Ruth as well. JH - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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