Kogler, Jennifer Anne 1982(?)–

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Kogler, Jennifer Anne 1982(?)–

PERSONAL: Born c. 1982, in Tustin, CA. Education: Princeton University, B.A., 2003.

ADDRESSES: Home—CA. Agent—Trident Media Group, 41 Madison Ave., 36th Fl., New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer. Has worked as a waitress.

WRITINGS:

Ruby Tuesday (novel), HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Jennifer Anne Kogler "wanted to be a writer since she was old enough to hold a pencil," according to an essayist on Kogler's home page. While studying for her B.A. in English at Princeton University, she wrote her first novel and submitted it as her senior thesis. After graduation, Kogler took a restaurant job in her home town, but she soon realized that she had fallen into one of the oldest stereotypes: that of the waitress/would-be writer. A little more than a year after her graduation, she had revised her novel manuscript and sent it to several literary agencies. "Within days, she received a phone call from Trident Media Group, offering to represent her and two months later, she had a two-book deal with HarperCollins."

Kogler's novel was published as Ruby Tuesday. The story follows thirteen-year-old Ruby Tuesday Sweet and her eccentric, sometimes larcenous family. Ruby lives with her father, Hollis, who is a handicapper involved in illegal gambling. Her mother, Darlene, is a hard-partying rock-and-roller better suited to going to concerts than raising her child. When Ruby's "Uncle Larry"—Hollis's bookie—is found murdered and Hollis is arrested on suspicion of the crime, Darlene arrives to take Ruby out of harm's way. Shortly, the two are on their way to Las Vegas, where Ruby meets Nana Sue, her casino-loving, heavy smoking, tough-talking, hard-drinking grandmother. Nana Sue, an inveterate gambler, lives in the casino and is often accompanied by her pet iguana, Twenty-One. Complicating matters is the presence of a winning ticket from a secret bet placed by Ruby's father on the 1988 World Series—a ticket worth two million dollars that has sparked considerable interest from the mob. As Ruby and her family dodge criminals and seek to exonerate Hollis, Ruby sees how strange and chaotic the world of adults can be and starts on her own journey to adulthood.

"This first novel is full of amusing detail, snappy dialogue and Technicolor characters, but it is rather less well supplied with discipline," commented a Kirkus Reviews critic in a review of Ruby Tuesday. However, the same critic concluded that any flaws in the novel will not put off potential readers or prevent them from identifying with the protagonist. Kliatt reviewer Claire Rosser called Ruby Tuesday an "excellent first novel," and remarked: "What makes this story so much fun, along with these flamboyant characters, are the wonderful descriptions Kogler creates with her writing." Nana Sue "is possibly the most unconventional grandmother to hit the pages of middle-grade fiction," observed Connie Tyrrell Burns in School Library Journal.