Ruby and the Pen

When I get to the end of a book and realise that I was reading purely for pleasure, and forgetting to make notes as I went along to write a critical review, I know it must have been a great read.  

This is exactly the sort of book my former 9-year-old self would have chosen to read. The boarding school element was always a drawcard for me as I went to a public school so found this other world quite fascinating.  Having a magic pen would certainly have appealed as I was hopeless at drawing and admired anyone who was good at it.  The humour intertwined throughout provides an element of fun, with a teacher called Miss Vermin, and Mr and Mrs Rude drooling and flossing in the cabin on a flight.  However, it's not all light-hearted; there's an element of bullying at school and sadness as the main character's father has passed away.  Still, Ruby learns to draw on her fond memories of him to see her through difficult situations. 

Many black and white illustrations feature throughout and although I personally found the style of some of them rather creepy - this fitted perfectly the characters they were portraying.

After enjoying this book, readers are likely to want to get their hands on the next in the series - Xander and the Pen, to see if it will cause problems for him as it did for Ruby.

Teacher Notes are available for this book.