I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, but seriously – apart from Hurricane Gold, Ruby Red is the most beautiful book the Spinebreakers have been given, and it’s not even let down too badly on the inside.  Set just before the Soweto uprising, at the height of apartheid South Africa, the book focuses upon Ruby, the daughter of a privileged family dedicated to resisting the racist regime.  When her art-gallery owning mother takes a gifted black artist under her wing, and Ruby meets an enchanting, Afrikaans boy Ruby begins to learn first hand about love, courage and acceptance in a world divided three ways.  It’s sensitively written, funny in parts, and kind of educational (or maybe my knowledge of the situation in South Africa is just woefully incomplete).  A definite must-read if you like your books mushy, sweet and with unexpected depths.