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Ruby and the Mix Games
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276 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 6, 2011
Ruby was a great character, I enjoyed reading about her, and I liked the mystery, and I found the plot idea was awesome!
Full review:
Ruby was fun and quirky, and I loved when she growled! Especially since that bugged the "supernatural boy," a lot of the time, he got on my nerves. But he was smart, and an awesome character, if he did treat others not quite as well as he could have.
One thing I had trouble understanding, was this 1 character during the mix games, his/her speech (Not going to explain, but the character was thought to be a guy during that time, and was really a girl but I'll use a male pronoun for the sake of being consistant) was just a bit confusing. I think some of the words were similar to what would've made mroe sense, like if the person said a body part, he'd meant a different body part.
Other then that, I enjoyed reading this book, and was done in about 4 hours over the course of just barely 2 days, I almost finished on the first day.
Ruby was unique, and so were all of the other characters, and I thought that the premise was quite unique, having an ink that could be pushed out of us to do various things like become light or such.
All in all, a really good book, and I enjoyed it!
Full review:
Ruby was fun and quirky, and I loved when she growled! Especially since that bugged the "supernatural boy," a lot of the time, he got on my nerves. But he was smart, and an awesome character, if he did treat others not quite as well as he could have.
One thing I had trouble understanding, was this 1 character during the mix games, his/her speech (Not going to explain, but the character was thought to be a guy during that time, and was really a girl but I'll use a male pronoun for the sake of being consistant) was just a bit confusing. I think some of the words were similar to what would've made mroe sense, like if the person said a body part, he'd meant a different body part.
Other then that, I enjoyed reading this book, and was done in about 4 hours over the course of just barely 2 days, I almost finished on the first day.
Ruby was unique, and so were all of the other characters, and I thought that the premise was quite unique, having an ink that could be pushed out of us to do various things like become light or such.
All in all, a really good book, and I enjoyed it!
January 11, 2012
A novel that feels like a manga--
Ruby and the Mix Games by Joseph Seegitz is set in another dimension occupied by people who are basically human but have a manga-like exaggerated expression of feelings and a manga-like ability to bounce back from punishment. They have bizarre names, fascinating unearthly gadgets, and extremely exciting lives. This book has no down time. The conflicts are sharply drawn and strong. Ruby Majis wants to find her brother Chance who has gone sour because of becoming a Hue fighter. She has a mysteriously powerful tool, and her trainer, Artemus, knows a lot about it and is involved in the history of Hue technology. Her teammate, Shrugger van Pelt (see what I told you about those names...?) is all but her worst enemy as they constantly insult each other and both verbally and physically slug it out. They'd never get away with that at School of the Ages...
With its largely amoral cultural milieu, extra-dimensional setting, and manga-like dynamics, this is far from a conventional novel. Ruby is a shrill, self-absorbed, but tough, persistent, clever, and strongly motivated heroine. Her voice is interesting, and it is interesting to read about how she sheds her naïveté and begins to mature. Her world is a tough one, too -- most of the people around her have similarly exaggerated personalities that are cruel, insensitive, crass, self-centered, greedy, and hedonistic. It's a shallow, hateful, savage world of nastiness layered over with comedy and technology. Against this background, Ruby's main value is a family value -- caring about her brother -- which gives her the strength to persevere. Seegitz makes her nearly the only likable person in the story initially -- a very wise decision for the tale he wishes to tell.
I think young people will be able to relate to Ruby and her problems, and may be drawn to the highly complex technical details of hue fighting, much the same way that they memorize the gear and spells in Harry Potter books. I'm interested to continue reading this series and to follow Joseph Seegitz' career as a fantasist.
Ruby and the Mix Games by Joseph Seegitz is set in another dimension occupied by people who are basically human but have a manga-like exaggerated expression of feelings and a manga-like ability to bounce back from punishment. They have bizarre names, fascinating unearthly gadgets, and extremely exciting lives. This book has no down time. The conflicts are sharply drawn and strong. Ruby Majis wants to find her brother Chance who has gone sour because of becoming a Hue fighter. She has a mysteriously powerful tool, and her trainer, Artemus, knows a lot about it and is involved in the history of Hue technology. Her teammate, Shrugger van Pelt (see what I told you about those names...?) is all but her worst enemy as they constantly insult each other and both verbally and physically slug it out. They'd never get away with that at School of the Ages...
With its largely amoral cultural milieu, extra-dimensional setting, and manga-like dynamics, this is far from a conventional novel. Ruby is a shrill, self-absorbed, but tough, persistent, clever, and strongly motivated heroine. Her voice is interesting, and it is interesting to read about how she sheds her naïveté and begins to mature. Her world is a tough one, too -- most of the people around her have similarly exaggerated personalities that are cruel, insensitive, crass, self-centered, greedy, and hedonistic. It's a shallow, hateful, savage world of nastiness layered over with comedy and technology. Against this background, Ruby's main value is a family value -- caring about her brother -- which gives her the strength to persevere. Seegitz makes her nearly the only likable person in the story initially -- a very wise decision for the tale he wishes to tell.
I think young people will be able to relate to Ruby and her problems, and may be drawn to the highly complex technical details of hue fighting, much the same way that they memorize the gear and spells in Harry Potter books. I'm interested to continue reading this series and to follow Joseph Seegitz' career as a fantasist.
September 1, 2011
This series starts well enough, though the way Ruby’s mother fixes everything by punching her kids and other people threw me off. Then when Ruby’s hero, the brother she loves so much, back hands her across a room it really made me think that it wouldn’t be anything more than abuse on every page. I am grateful that it wasn’t… though the games were crude enough, but not gory.
The book starts as a young girl named Ruby is entranced with the idea of becoming a Hue warrior. She arrives at this decision mostly because her brother, a hero to her, becomes one and everyone is very proud of him. But when her brother graduates and comes home, he has become rude and cynical. He seems to be angry and disappointed by the whole ordeal. He up and leaves the family and they never hear of him again.
Now it is Ruby’s turn to enter the game school and she has applied to the same institution her brother did. Her main focus is to learn to fight and to find her lost brother.
That seems easy enough, until when she leaves a good friend gives her a goodbye gift. Appreciative, she receives it but never suspects the secret behind it. It turns out to be one of five pieces from the scintillating weapon known as the Ginque Fountain. Her trainer, Artemus, recognizes the gift and trains the kids to find the other pieces. Before they can, however, he must win the ultimate game. If he wins, they will travel to other dimensions in search of the rest of the pieces.
The writing is simple and mostly easy to follow. It could use a bit of editing to soften some rough spots although they didn’t mess up the story. The rest of the series will probably explore how Ruby and her group of companions search for the rest of the pieces. I would recommend this story to readers from pre-teens to adults.
The book starts as a young girl named Ruby is entranced with the idea of becoming a Hue warrior. She arrives at this decision mostly because her brother, a hero to her, becomes one and everyone is very proud of him. But when her brother graduates and comes home, he has become rude and cynical. He seems to be angry and disappointed by the whole ordeal. He up and leaves the family and they never hear of him again.
Now it is Ruby’s turn to enter the game school and she has applied to the same institution her brother did. Her main focus is to learn to fight and to find her lost brother.
That seems easy enough, until when she leaves a good friend gives her a goodbye gift. Appreciative, she receives it but never suspects the secret behind it. It turns out to be one of five pieces from the scintillating weapon known as the Ginque Fountain. Her trainer, Artemus, recognizes the gift and trains the kids to find the other pieces. Before they can, however, he must win the ultimate game. If he wins, they will travel to other dimensions in search of the rest of the pieces.
The writing is simple and mostly easy to follow. It could use a bit of editing to soften some rough spots although they didn’t mess up the story. The rest of the series will probably explore how Ruby and her group of companions search for the rest of the pieces. I would recommend this story to readers from pre-teens to adults.
May 12, 2011
I downloaded a sample of this book, and must say that I am not the target audience for this. This book has some very interesting ideas in it, and I wish I could get into it, but it started to lose me around the end of the second chapter.
The problem is the transitioning from point to point is very jarring for me. At one moment, this is happening, and before this is resolved, this is also happening, and no one seems to notice it, and then this other thing starts to happen, and so on. The book seems to have the pacing of a particularly hyper episode of Spongebob. Characters go from angry to ecstatic to depressed inside of a sentence or paragraph.
What I liked were some of the ideas. This writer has a good way of incorporating some really interesting features of a magical system. First of all, the idea that mages have to earn a license, and that they are doing this for a martial arts/sporting event rather than to get Frodo to the mountain or whatever is an interesting twist on things. Some of the inventions he incorporates are also interesting. His characterization, when it's not bouncing around, is fairly good, as well. I like the main character, Ruby, though she seems to have the attention span of a fruit fly.
I think someone who is into anime series like Naruto might find this book appealing because it involves a very active and sporadic world, involving immediate, very quick-moving character development, and using magic as a weapon/sporting thing. But personally, I just don't think I'm the right audience.
The problem is the transitioning from point to point is very jarring for me. At one moment, this is happening, and before this is resolved, this is also happening, and no one seems to notice it, and then this other thing starts to happen, and so on. The book seems to have the pacing of a particularly hyper episode of Spongebob. Characters go from angry to ecstatic to depressed inside of a sentence or paragraph.
What I liked were some of the ideas. This writer has a good way of incorporating some really interesting features of a magical system. First of all, the idea that mages have to earn a license, and that they are doing this for a martial arts/sporting event rather than to get Frodo to the mountain or whatever is an interesting twist on things. Some of the inventions he incorporates are also interesting. His characterization, when it's not bouncing around, is fairly good, as well. I like the main character, Ruby, though she seems to have the attention span of a fruit fly.
I think someone who is into anime series like Naruto might find this book appealing because it involves a very active and sporadic world, involving immediate, very quick-moving character development, and using magic as a weapon/sporting thing. But personally, I just don't think I'm the right audience.
June 15, 2011
Meet Ruby, she is a small heroine with a heart full of courage and love for her brother. When no one else seems to want to find her brother, Ruby waits for the day that she can become a Hue and find him herself. But what if joining the Mix Games turns her into the cold person that her brother had been turned into.
Ruby is a strong and dynamic lead character, after all, she can secrete magical ink from her pores. Combine this with the other very well-developed and strong characters and you have a “mix” (sorry just had to) that results in a great story. Seegitz weaves his story in a unique and compelling way that redefines the coming of age story. Chocked full of adventure and active dialogue, this is a fast and satisfying read.
I would recommend this book for any youth but an adult would enjoy the fight scenes and mystery that the story holds also. Some violence but it fits the story line very well without being just obligatory. The ending will leave you wanting more in this first book of a great new series. I am now waiting…….
Ruby is a strong and dynamic lead character, after all, she can secrete magical ink from her pores. Combine this with the other very well-developed and strong characters and you have a “mix” (sorry just had to) that results in a great story. Seegitz weaves his story in a unique and compelling way that redefines the coming of age story. Chocked full of adventure and active dialogue, this is a fast and satisfying read.
I would recommend this book for any youth but an adult would enjoy the fight scenes and mystery that the story holds also. Some violence but it fits the story line very well without being just obligatory. The ending will leave you wanting more in this first book of a great new series. I am now waiting…….
September 28, 2011
This book is delightful. It is full of imagination and all kinds of new stuff. It has been a while since a book has opened up such a new world where everything is not a thing like what our world is.
I enjoyed how the author used a completely different pallet (couldn’t resist) to draw (again!) a whole new way of life and carve (stop it!) an existence out of nothing but new words and images. It was so fun to play along in this game of imagination. I think there was a plot in there somewhere. Yes, yes I know there was! Ruby was delightful and she braved her challenges without fuss just like a real hero.
I enjoyed this book very much. Normally I read fiction to get me out of my world and sometimes that takes me to some dark places but this book, full of its many colors (ok done now!) just brought me sunshine. Definitely a must read. (You’ll have to read the book to get the parentheses references.)
I enjoyed how the author used a completely different pallet (couldn’t resist) to draw (again!) a whole new way of life and carve (stop it!) an existence out of nothing but new words and images. It was so fun to play along in this game of imagination. I think there was a plot in there somewhere. Yes, yes I know there was! Ruby was delightful and she braved her challenges without fuss just like a real hero.
I enjoyed this book very much. Normally I read fiction to get me out of my world and sometimes that takes me to some dark places but this book, full of its many colors (ok done now!) just brought me sunshine. Definitely a must read. (You’ll have to read the book to get the parentheses references.)
August 30, 2011
This novel is like a rollercoaster ride, smoothly zipping from one event to the next in this action packed MG/YA novel. The story captures the reader’s attention from the very beginning as Ruby acquires a trainer and sets off on a quest that takes her around the world, learning to control and master her Hue powers along the way. With its often comical dialogue and situations, I especially think MG students will love this novel. I believe Seegitz has done a superb job capturing the dialogue and actions of the young protagonists in this story, creating fantastical situations and elements unique to the storyline. This is a great novel for children of all ages, one that would also be a great for parents and children to read together as it has many great morals as well...
To read my full review (10/6):
http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/20...
To read my full review (10/6):
http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/20...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews