Rating: 
Summary: Terrible
Review: Terrible. Awful book. I had to read 3 summer reading books and that was one and it was the worst...ever. Terrible. Don't buy it for leisure.
Rating: 
Summary: Too confusing
Review: A Review by Amy
The book was very interesting. This story is about a girl named Sally, who is sixteen years old. It takes place in the 1870s, in an old town in England. Sally is trying to figure out her father's death. She was given a note that talked about "The Seven Blessings." Sally has no idea what that means. So she goes on a hunt to figure it out. However, ever person she asks about the saying or her father's death, a new mystery shows up.The story was somewhat a page-turner. Still, some chapters would be very long and not full of excitement. The author sometimes uses descriptive words that describe too many things at once and becomes confusing. Also, the author uses "she" a lot, so you have to follow the story to understand what she they are talking about. The book would probably be better if it wasn't as confusing. I started to get into the book around the fifth and sixth chapter, and then it went downhill and became dull. The book was then very boring and not interesting. I would recommend you to buy this book if you can sit down and really focus in on the book. However, if you can't do this then you shouldn't buy the book.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book!
Review: Ruby In The Smoke by Phillip Pullman was a great book. Some parts were sad because the main character, Sally Lockhart, finds out her father was murdered in the South China Sea. I really liked this book because it was mysterious and exciting at the same time. I liked how at the end it all fit together. I thought the book was cool because everywhere Sally went there was a new mysterious secret that she has to find out. I would definetely recommend this to anyone of any ages. Ruby in the Smoke was one of my favorite books! If you haven't read this book then you should defintely read it soon! You will love it!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: The Ruby In The Smoke is a facinating book which had me reading for hours on end. The plot is intriging and so are all the other books by Phillip Pullman. He is a great author.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad - slow start
Review: Clearly anyone who thinks this is just another The Golden Compass is not an author, an cannot have read too much to understand literature this little! Sorry, I don't want to offend, but thinking this is the same as The Golden Compass because it concerns a blond orphan is like considering The Great Gatsby the same as Wuthering Heights because they both take place in big houses! Okay, maybe not that extreme... Anyway, Sally is nothing like Lyra (unfortunately - Lyra is amazing) and her adventure is of a different genre altogther. Unfortunately again: no space for daemons here. When the plot gets into a good pace, it starts to pull you along, but the starting can be off-putting. Though a lot happens, I found it slow somehow. A very good read, if not quite His Dark Materials standard, and witha promise of two sequals to continue all the intereting characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Not too great
Review: I was hoping to find that this would be as interesting as The Golden Compass. However, that was not the case. I found the book to be rather bleak and boring.
Rating:
Summary: eh, it's okay
Review: i started reading this book and didn't get very far. i wasn't as interested in it as i was in teh golden compass and that trilogy. i found that to be more engaging, so i was hoping this would be as well, but it's not.
Rating:
Summary: Pullman can do no wrong
Review: I admit I am biased! Philip Pullman writes books that are readable, entertaining, educational and, sometimes, controversial. This one fits easily into the first three categories. In later books (his Dark Materials Trilogy) Pullman becomes more controversial and has opened himself up to criticism from various religious extremists who see his novels as an attack on thier own personal beliefs. The Ruby in The Smoke is NOT controversial (though doubtless some fundamentalists who have found fault with his later books will now be trolling through his earlier writing to try and find a politically-incorrect sentence they don't agree with and give it the big thumbs down). The heroine is 16 year-old Sally Lockhart and she lives in Victorian London. Her father has been murdered and her life is about to be turned upside down by a legacy she doesn't want. Pullman does an excellent job of describing Victorian London (the educational concept). He also makes an exceptional job of plotting and holding the reader's attention (the entertainment). In terms of writing, his style is clear, often amusing, and he has the ability to draw settings in just a few brief words (the readability). Pullman's London is full or rogues and scoundrels and vagabonds and neer-do-wells. And it seems they're all on the side of the opium dealers (who really DID exist in Victorian London). But Sally Lockhart draws loyalty from some borderline characters of her her own. People who are street-wise, and know how to help her through her problems. If you've not yet read a Philip Pullman book, start with this one and see how you get on. They're a lot of fun and they're extraordinarily well written.
Rating:
Summary: okay
Review: This book is okay, nothing memorable. The characters are wondreful, the plot confusing, the ending a little upsetting. I had high hopes for this book, because of " The Golden Compass" but it let me down. After it was done I thought it was readable, it went fast and could be fun. I didn't feel the characters learned any better, but if you have nothing else to do, go to your library and get this book. I wouldn't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, can you say "Repeated History"?
Review: Pullman is an amazing author with extrodinary talents, but if you have read all of his books, you will see an on-going pattern: "Blonde orphan suddenly stuck in a tough situation". That pretty much sums up this book, though I enjoyed the mystery of the ruby greatly, perhaps Pullman needs to go fishing in an idea bucket.
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