RUBY, THE RED-HOT WITCH AT BLOOMINGDALE'S

A lighthearted look at two children trying to mend their broken family. As Petra, 13, tells it, her parents have split up over Dad's midlife crisis and moved to two N.Y.C. apartments. Petra may be unhappy, but her brother Thomas, eight, has been truly miserable since—back in the suburbs—the family dog was sent away after becoming pregnant. One day, in search of water to cure Thomas's chronic hiccups, the two meet Ruby, resident witch on Bloomingdale's sixth floor. Ruby cures Thomas, gives him hope of seeing his dog's puppies, and even offers Petra the prospect of reuniting her parents. Except for Thomas, there are no memorable characters here. The fantasy aspect is ambiguous and slight; the plot never jells into significance. A minor effort. (Fiction. 8-12)