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CURSE OF THE ROYAL RUBY, THE: A Rinnah Two Feathers Mystery
by Rodney Johnson
Uglytown Productions, November 2002
276 pages
$10.95
ISBN: 0966347390


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

It's been a long time since I've read a book about a 14 year old girl and an even longer time since I was one, but when a review of THE CURSE OF THE ROYAL RUBY came in, I grabbed it.

Rinnah Two-Feathers is a Lakotah Sioux who lives in South Dakota. It's summer, and she and her friends, Tommy Red Hawk and Meagen Paige are going to spend 6 weeks together in a cabin in Spearfish Canyon that Meagen's father has rented. But during the Wild West Days celebration at the Fish Hatchery, a woman hands a letter to Rinnah. The woman is later attacked and it friends' vacation is jeopardized until a friend of the family offers to spend time at the cabin overseeing the children when Mr. Paige is at work.

The note mentions something about The Rose. Rinnah is determined to find out more about it, especially after her grandmother gives her a medicine bag, made for her by Ronnie Black Elk, the tribal wise man. The bag contains the usual bits and pieces, but it also contains rose petals, not a common ingredient in medicine bags. Rinnah and Meagen do a web search and find that there was a middle european country that had a cursed royal necklace, the centerpiece of which was a beautiful rose red ruby, which leads to a thrilling chase at the July 4th fireworks at Mt. Rushmore.

Johnson subtly gets everything right. Rinnah is a 14 year old girl, not yet interested in boys, very curious, very normal. Her friend, Meagen, has shot up over the last school year, and is taller than either of the other two, and is also beginning to notice the other sex and wear makeup. Tommy hasn't really started to mature yet. He's shorter than either of the girls and only interested in learning magic tricks. But all three band together to go horseback riding and get into mischief as only young teens can.

If there is a criticism of this book, it is that these books must be read in series, but children will read books in order, so that is not a real fault of the book. It is a lovely little illustrated paperback, with cover flaps, like on a dust jacket, that can be used for bookmarks, so no one will be tempted to dog ear pages. It's a slightly different shape from most paperbacks and the cover stock is very high gloss, high quality paper. There is a list of characters in the beginning. I've not had the privilege of handling an Uglytown production before. I hope I will have the chance to again.

Note: I have forwarded this book to a ten year old girl. If she writes a review, I will post it.

Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, April 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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