Swindells, Robert: Ruby Tanya
The book is written from the point of view of two girls. They’re named Ruby Tanya and Asra, and they’re best friends. Asra is an asylum seeker and Ruby Tanya is an English girl. Ruby Tanya’s father doesn’t like asylum seekers and thinks they are bad company for English children. So, his daughter doesn’t tell him about her friend Asra.
One day a bomb goes off at Ruby Tanya and Asra’s school. All the people think that the asylum seeker children planted the bomb because they had half a day off.
And then Ruby Tanya’s father starts a campaign against the asylum seekers. That’s when things start to get out of control.
I liked the book because it isn’t hard to read. The chapters are really short, at the most three pages. So you always think: „Only one more chapter“ and then you read at least four chapters. I think Robert Swindells writes great books, which are easy to understand. The only thing that I didn’t like was that the author didn’t use quotation marks. That’s why you never know if somebody is talking or not. That’s a bit complicated.
I recommend the book to anyone who is interested in the current situation of asylum seekers in Great Britain.
Swindells, Robert: Ruby Tanya
Pages: 246
Rating: ****
Signatur: FE.J / SWI
© Review and Illustration: Verena Bernhardt, 5Am (September 2018)