Relativity

September 30, 2013
It seems like Ruby Wright's life is falling apart when her widower father moves them to boring Ennis, Ohio. But Ennis becomes a lot less dull when Ruby discovers a door in the trunk of a grand oak tree in the cornfields behind their house. Ruby enters the tree, and when she exits, this scientifically gifted teen finds herself in a parallel universe where she has a brother, her mother is still alive, and Ruby herself is utterly different. Ruby's fascinating yet frightening experience sends her on a journey through multiple parallel universes in hopes of finding one where she has the life she truly wishes forâone where her parents are still alive and together and where Ruby gets to be with the boy she loves. Debut novelist Bishara's premise and use of string theory are promising, but the identity and storyline changes that accompany each universe shift keep the characters from feeling fully developed, including Ruby. This aside, readers will be intrigued by the possibility of exploring parallel selves. Ages 12âup. Agent: Minju Chang, BookStop Literary.

August 1, 2013
In Bishara's debut novel, a portal to parallel universes offers a tempting escape to a teenager unhappy with a recent family move. Ruby has been miserable ever since her father's sudden remarriage swept her away from the life she loved in Northern California and dumped her in rural Ohio. But small-town Ennis has its share of surprises, as Ruby soon discovers that an ancient oak tree behind her new home conceals a wormhole. Each turn of the steering wheel inside the tree (it glows purple) transports her to alternate realities--worlds where her long-dead mother is alive and her best friend, George, is her lover. Alas, the superficiality of Bishara's worldbuilding mutes the resonance of Ruby's emotional journey as she learns what could have been. Parallel universes are theoretically infinite, but Ruby's tree conveniently limits her to a mere 10. A genius scientist hides his secrets behind a childishly simple substitution cipher. Ruby, a science geek, has the Einstein tensor equation tattooed on her neck and a tendency to pepper her first-person, present-tense narration with scientific terminology--but she can't solve that basic cipher until the plot provides her with the key. This tidy "what if?" adventure isn't clever enough to go to the head of the debut class. (Science fiction. 14-18)

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November 1, 2013

Gr 7-10-Trying to hide from Kandy, her new, unbalanced stepsister, 15-year-old Ruby Wright opens the door she finds in an ancient oak tree just off her stepmother's property in small-town Ohio. She turns a dial in the middle of the tree and finds herself in a parallel universe where she has an older brother and her mother is still alive. As she travels alternative realities, Ruby questions whether she can find the perfect universe where her mother hasn't died, her parents are still together, and her older brother exists. The more she learns, the more she realizes that her time is running short to find that perfect world or return to the one she knows. The real story here is Ruby's acceptance of her current life. Pacing is steady, and the plot moves forward with each new world. The secondary characters do not play a huge part in the story, other than pushing Ruby to understand each one a little better, especially her stepmother and Kandy. She gets a chance to see what she's been missing, but her traveling through these alternatives may have dire consequences on those she encounters.-Natalie Struecker, Rock Island Public Library, IL

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014
Ruby Wright feels out of place. She misses her dead mom, her stepsister Kandy hates her, and her new small-town Ohio school doesn't get her scientific mind and California attitude. Then Ruby discovers a lightning-powered tree that lets her explore parallel universes with alternate realities. Bishara over-crams the story a bit, but readers will enjoy the exciting universe-hopping.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)