In this second volume of the Ruby Red Trilogy, 16-year-old Gwen continues her time-traveling adventures as the newest member of the Circle of Twelve.
In Ruby Red (2011), Gwen discovered she inherited a time-travel gene that makes her the final link in the Circle. Her life’s now controlled by the Guardians, a secret society monitoring time travel through the chronograph. All 12 time travelers must be introduced into the chronograph so the Circle can be closed, and the Guardians have assigned Gwen and irresistible Gideon de Villiers the task of locating four missing time travelers. Adjusting to her new role, Gwen falls for Gideon, who fluctuates between wooing and ignoring her. Adding comic relief, a ghostly gargoyle adopts Gwen. As she ventures into the past, the contemporary Gwen peppers her first-person account with humorous asides. With guts and gumption, she cruises into an 18th-century soiree, where she entertains guests with a 20th-century tune. Gwen’s obsessive schoolgirl crushing, complicated time switches and the Circle’s undefined secrets may leave readers a bit clueless. Has Gideon manipulated Gwen? What’s with the creepy Florentine Alliance? Is Gwen destined to play a fatal role closing the Circle, when “the secret will be revealed?”
Hopefully, all will be revealed in the Emerald Green finale
. (Fantasy. 12 & up)