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Fool's Errand
Fool's Errand
Fool's Errand
Ebook192 pages2 hours

Fool's Errand

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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When her best friend Sophie goes missing, 12-year-old Ruby Tabeata has a choice: wait for her friend to come home or defy her parents and find Sophie


Set during the 1950s Blacklist era when writers like Sophie’s mom were being jailed or fired, Fool’s Errand sends Ruby out of her city and her comfort zone.


With nothing to rely on but her grit and determination, Ruby has to outsmart the men chasing Sophie and her mom—discovering that whether or not you succeed, trying to save a friend is never a fool’s errand.


Read part one of this middle-grade Beat Street Series, The Beat on Ruby’s Street, to learn how Ruby’s story begins. 


Please Note: narrative language and dialogue was designed to evoke the 1950s. The author does not condone 1950s language in present times.  

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 17, 2019
ISBN9781774000021
Fool's Errand
Author

Jenna Zark

I am a columnist, lyricist and an award-winning playwright whose plays have been produced in New York and around the country. More information on my play credits are on my Playwriting page. I first learned about the Beats when my older sister brought me to a play in the Village and shared stories about the poets who walked its streets in the 1950s. Though long gone, their poems and books were in all the book stores and I started to read them. When I was in college, I visited the City Lights bookstore in San Francisco and heard more stories about Beats and the readings they had there. Years later, my sister and her family moved to Perry Street and I visited them every Friday after work. I began to imagine a young girl, trying to find the poets who were legends in her time. Would she want to be a poet herself? What would life be like for her? Turned out it was kind of rough—rougher than I thought it would be, and full of surprises. But the story kept growing until it became the Beat Street Series. Now I want to share it with you.

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Fool's Errand brings history alive. A dark time in American history, the witch hunts surrounding the fear of Communism. Told through the eyes of Ruby, a brilliant girl who will draw you into her life as if it were your own. The second book in the series, Ruby hasn't missed a beat (pun a little intended). Her spunk and smarts and loyalty are all that stands between her best friend and ruin. A brilliant adventure that will transport you back to historic NY.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Twelve year old Ruby Tabeata is ready to have a fun summer. However, she finds out that her best friend Sophie is forced into hiding with her mother after her mother attended a Communist meeting. The House Un-American Activities Committee would like to serve Sophie's mom in order to have her turn in other people who have attended meetings as well. Ruby wants to help Sophie and her mother after her mother loses her job and goes on the run, but after last year's run-in with a social worker, Ruby's mom has set some rules for her. Ruby decides to chase Sophie all the way to Illinois along with her brother's girlfriend JoJo. Although, her intentions may end up hurting more than helping.An exciting and dangerous middle grade adventure in the 1950's. Fool's Errand picks up soon after book 1, The Beat of Ruby's Street leaves off and I would highly encourage reading that first in order to get to Ruby. Through Ruby, I learned a little more about America's hidden history of the House Un-American Activities Committee and the Hollywood Blacklist that Sophie's mom was placed on. Ruby's adventure was also a coming-of-age journey for her where she expanded out of the Beat society and learned that her actions had consequences. Ruby also learned more of the rules of society that she didn't always experience as a Beat and gained maturity as she learned to trust others and that not everything will go the way you think. This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What would you do for your best friend? Ruby would go anywhere she is needed to help her friend. When Ruby’s best friend Sophie and her mother have to leave, Ruby is willing to travel from New York to Indiana just to make sure her friend and mom are okay. Sophie’s mother is a comedy writer caught up in what was called the “Red Scare”. A time when entertainers in particular were targeted and encouraged to name their friends who the government considered communists or communist sympathizers. This was a great book. It teaches about a time kids know nothing about. Sophie has to learn how to communicate with both of her parents, how to trust people and how to make a difference. This is the second book in the Beat Street series. A great series for middles school students.

Book preview

Fool's Errand - Jenna Zark

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