The Ruby Code

Exciting and fast paced, with provocative notions to ponder about what makes us human.

Khoury (the Skyborn series) layers a future New York City and a role-playing fantasy adventure to create an inventive techno-thriller reminiscent of Ready Player One. White-cued 13-year-old Ashton "Ash" Tyler, beset by bullies at soccer and his widowed mother's cruel boyfriend at home, increasingly retreats into virtual reality games. After Ash helps a man who is being assaulted, the man gives him a box that turns out to contain a single-player VR game, Glass Realm. As Ash plays, he encounters a shopkeeper named Ruby who seems strangely unlike a non-player character. Alternating chapters follow white-haired, red-gold-eyed Ruby, a resilient teenager gradually resisting a voice ordering her to stay on script. Ash's arrival helps her to break free, and together they follow a quest to seek the truth about Ruby's past and her true nature, an arc that soon takes on a new urgency around real-world events. Intrusive drone surveillance and dangerously immersive VR add a cyberpunk feel to a grim setting. Khoury loads tremendous heart into explorations of free will and sentience throughout this fast-paced cross-genre read, which is accessible to gamers and nongamers alike. Context clues suggest racial diversity in the secondary cast. Ages 8-12. Agent: Lucy Carson, Friedrich Agency. (June)

Gr 3-7--Khoury's latest is an exciting cyber-thriller along the lines of Ready Player One and War Games. This is the story of 13-year-old Ash who is drawn to the virtual world since, in real life, he has an abusive stepfather and school bullies. Ash's adventure begins when one night, on his way back from a video arcade, he helps a person on the street in need. In thanks, the man gives him a gift of a small metal box. It holds a retro-style video game called The Glass Realm, an old fantasy role-playing game. During gameplay, he meets a seemingly unassuming side character named Ruby. But as Ash delves further into The Glass Realm, he realizes it is more than it seems, and Ruby is more than just a small character; she can actually rewrite the game. Hakeem, Ash's good friend, worries that Ash is becoming a zombie virtual reality addict, but Ash is more worried that the virtual reality is the reality. Readers will be enticed by this sci-fi thriller, which is action-packed and full of interesting, diverse characters. Khoury's intuitive gamer sense permeates these pages. VERDICT Video game fans will love this book. Recommended for juvenile sci-fi collections.--Lisa Gieskes