Ruby’s Web

By Ellen van Neerven

Reviewed by Zewlan Moor

Ellen van Neerven is a writer of Mununjali and Dutch heritage living on Yagera and Turrbal land. They have had multiple collections of short stories and poetry published. This is their first novel for younger readers.

Ruby is a young Aboriginal girl moving from primary to high school. The transition is made harder because Ruby’s best friend from primary school, her cousin Amber, has distanced herself from Ruby this year. Amber was the extrovert in their group. She was school captain, fiercely proud of her Indigenous heritage, and always stood up for the underdog. Now in Year 7 she is acting as the very bully she fought against previously.

Ruby is left alone at lunch and pours her feelings into writing poems. When a personal poem of hers, about her family, is shortlisted in a statewide poetry competition, Ruby feels proud. However, it is only a matter of time before she is deflated by anonymous online trolls, derogatory names and even threats to “kill” her. The worst part is the comments by classmates, teasing her about her “Footballer’s shoulders” and tagging her in a “Top 10 ugliest girls in Year 7” post.

Despite well-meaning teachers’ advice, Ruby is determined not to report the trolling. With her classmate Calvin, she has observed how: reporting the bullying seemed to backfire on him … everyone was annoyed that we had to do anti-bullying training instead of PE and said, ‘It’s because of Calvin, the Snitch’ … No one blamed the bullies themselves, and it seemed like they got away with a warning from the teachers. (44-45)

Staff members seem aware that the vitriol directed towards her poem may be related to broader societal tensions. Ruby’s poem is called “All Our Voices Together”. Although written months before The Voice referendum on whether Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders should have their own access to political power via a Voice to Parliament, it is suspected that this is why the comments have been so heated.

The inclusion of the October 2023 Voice referendum, and particularly Ruby’s close personal connection to it, is something I have not seen in Australian junior and young adult fiction so far. The reader is invited in to see the profound effect it has on Ruby and her family. Van Neerven captures the all-encompassing worry it causes Ruby, as well as the disappointment felt by her mother and grandmother.

Mum didn’t always want to hear about the Voice when it was mentioned on the news. She said it was too much and it made her feel sick to hear a bunch of mostly non-Indigenous people talk about us on the TV. She also didn’t want me to watch as she worried about how it might affect me. My nan had a different opinion. She wanted to watch. She was really hoping for a YES result and she said Australia had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, to recognise Indigenous people in the constitution and work towards a better future for our mob. (18)

Ruby’s Nan is an invariable source of strength and comfort. Despite recovering from chemotherapy, she finds the energy to organise a smoking ceremony for her mob, and is always there to adjudicate between her grandchildren. She is portrayed as a realistic hero though, who feels “tired and in need of a bickie and The Bold and the Beautiful.” The strength and positivity of her female role models at home counteract Ruby’s struggles with making friends and being bullied at school. This realism and close characterisation is one of the assets of the novel.

Another is the sincere voice, that will appeal to sensitive readers with personal experience or the desire to walk in the shoes of a young Aboriginal girl navigating her own identity in the context of the momentous historical event that was the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum. Ruby’s Web is a quiet novel, but van Neerven has captured the voice of a shy, thoughtful, under-confident teen very well, and I expect this will endear it to a particular subset of readers.

Teacher Notes

Magabala Books 2026

Zewlan Moor is the author of Nothing Alike, The Bill Dup and Our World: Philippines. Her next book, Say Hello Like an Armadillo is out in the US/UK in June 2026 and Australia in Summer 2026-7. Pre-order or add it to your Goodreads Want To Read shelf now!