RUBY LU, EMPRESS OF EVERYTHING

The best thing about Flying Duck and her family emigrating from China to live with Ruby Lu’s family is that everything is new and exciting, but her mother warns her that even the most exciting things can grow old. Suddenly everything is different. The house is filled with strange new foods, the sounds of a new language and too many people. As Empress of Everything, Ruby Lu already has a full plate. How will she ever manage to squeeze all the new responsibilities that come with a suddenly much larger family into her schedule already packed with swimming lessons, the Plum Club and summer school? Reminiscent of Beverly Cleary’s infamous Ramona Quimby, Ruby Lu is at once endearing and exasperating. The only flaw is the occasional tendency to pontificate. Peppered with delightful illustrations of the myriad adventures and mishaps, this follow-up to Ruby Lu, Brave and True (2004) does not disappoint. (Fiction. 7-10)