Ruby Tuesday Sweet's family has always been a little different from her classmates’ families, but she never knew exactly how different. She had only a vague idea of what her father did, but now things are becoming a lot clearer. Ruby Tuesday has always known that her "Uncle" Larry, mother, grandmother, and father weren't like other people, sure, but now she knows that they're more than eccentric; they've been involved in some shady business, and now her father is in trouble following Larry's murder.

Ruby Tuesday and her mother, Daphne, skip town for a little bit until things blow over. Where do they go? To visit Ruby's grandmother, who lives with her pet iguana, 21, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Apparently, a lot of the secrets in Ruby's family go back to Las Vegas—and gambling. It's legal to gamble in Las Vegas, but Ruby's father and Larry were involved in that same business in California. Now, it's gotten them all into some hot water.

Ruby is just one of many fascinating, unusual, and well-written characters in a great novel by debut novelist Jennifer Anne Kogler. I also believe this is the first YA novel I've read taking place in Las Vegas, and that setting gives a lot to this book. Jennifer Anne Kogler has put captivating people in an enthralling location and written a funny, entertaining, original, and absorbing novel about them. It's a page-turner!

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce
12/20/2006

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