Middle Grade/YA Fiction
The Beat on Ruby's Street
The Beat on Ruby's Street is a novel for young readers (age 10 and up) about an 11-year-old Beat girl's adventures in 1958 Greenwich Village.
The last thing eleven year old Ruby Tabeata expected on her way to a Jack Kerouac reading was to be hauled to the police station.
It's 1958 and Ruby lives in Greenwich Village with dreams of meeting famous poets while writing her own poetry. Instead, she is accused of trying to steal fruit from a local vendor and forced to go into a children's home. As Ruby struggles to return to family and friends, she learns the only choice she has is to follow her heart.
"Narrated by precocious eleven-year-old Beat girl Ruby, this coming-of-age tale, set in a world of rebels, rule-breakers and dream makers, is engaging and full of heart."
— Annie Wilder, author of House of Spirits and Whispers
"A journey into the heart of the Beat Generation and the complexities of family relationships. Zark's writing is sensitive and highly engaging."
— Katia Novet Saint Lot, author of Amadi's Snowman
"A beautifully realized and researched novel, The Beat on Ruby's Street allows us to see the Beat movement through Ruby's perspective, a girl raised by well-meaning but inattentive artists. Zark's use of language is stunning, and I lost myself for a couple of hours in mid-century New York. Neither Ruby or Zark ever make easy choices, in the best possible way."
— Ruth Virkus, co-creator of Tyme for Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison
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Fool's Errand
Fool's Errand is a novel for young readers (age 10 and up) about an 12-year-old Beat girl's adventures in 1958 Greenwich Village.
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.
"In this sequel to her award-winning novel, The Beat on Ruby Street, Zark deftly intertwines Ruby's place within the Beat Generation during a time in American culture when the expressive power of art and language could get you blacklisted. I was easily immersed in Ruby's journey through parental angst and relationships, her struggle with writer's block, her burgeoning awareness of the civil rights movement and what that truly means, and her persistence to stand up for what's right. Because when it comes to family and friends, Ruby refuses to back down. Zark weaves each cultural nuance and detail eloquently and meaningfully. Although taking place in the 1950s, today's current climate makes this a read that is as timely to present day as it is historically significant."
— Katrina M. Randall, author of The Reaper's Daughter and The Dreamer Saga Quartet
"Zark mixes in elements of a road trip and perseverance in the second book in the Beat Street Series. "Fool's Errand" is ultimately a story of true friendship and the lengths you would go for your best friend, as Ruby finds the courage to do what no one else will."
— Author Chris Minich and illustrator Janelle Minich of the Misadventures of Princess Sydney books
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