Ruby Lost and Found
by Christina Li (Author)
Perfect for fans of Kelly Yang and Rebecca Stead, this touching middle grade novel maps one girl's quest to remember her grandfather through his scavenger hunts; reconnect with her family; and fight for her community in her rapidly changing hometown.
Thanks to her Ye-Ye's epic scavenger hunts, thirteen-year-old Ruby Chu knows San Francisco like the back of her hand. But after his death, she feels lost, and it seems like everyone--from her best friends to her older sister--is abandoning her.
After Ruby gets in major trouble at school, her parents decide she has to spend the summer at a local senior center, with her grandmother, Nai-Nai, and Nai-Nai's friends for company. When a new boy from Ruby's grade, Liam Yeung, starts showing up too, Ruby's humiliation is complete.
But Nai-Nai, her friends, and Liam all surprise Ruby. She finds herself working with Liam, who might not be as annoying as he seems, to help save a historic Chinatown bakery that's being priced out of the neighborhood. And alongside Nai-Nai, who is keeping a secret that threatens to change everything, Ruby retraces Ye-Ye's scavenger hunt maps in an attempt to find a way out of her grief--and maybe even find herself.
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Vividly imagined characters, relationships, and family dynamics are at the heart of this involving novel. A moving, intergenerational story.
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly
In an affecting contemporary novel from Li (Clues to the Universe), Chinese American Ruby Chu, 13, struggles to process the death of her beloved paternal grandfather, Ye-Ye; her sister's impending departure for college; and the splintering of her friend group. After Ruby gets in trouble for ditching school, her parents decide that she will spend summer weekdays and weeknights with her Nai-Nai, who lives near San Francisco's Chinatown. Despite some initial awkwardness, Ruby finds comfort and stability in the routine of visiting Nai-Nai's friends at the senior recreation center, where she also befriends schoolmate Liam Yeung. But the news that May's Bakery--a Chinatown institution as well as a beloved spot for Ruby and Ye-Ye--may sell to developers, and Nai-Nai's worsening memory, threaten Ruby's fragile peace. Interspersing the present-day narrative with past scenes of Ruby and Ye-Ye's time together, Li balances youthful optimism as Ruby and Liam seek to save the bakery with harder realities as Ruby contends with her guilt about Ye-Ye's death and her own grief. It's an economically told, emotionally driven story that deftly incorporates multiple strands--around community care, gentrification, and the messy parts of familial change--while representing an inclusive Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking Chinatown community. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jessica Regel, Helm Literary. (May)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
With wonderfully nuanced characters, Li crafts a beautiful intergenerational story about grief and the struggle of changing friendships. Engaging, cultural, and authentic—everything I love about storytelling can be found here. — Chrystal D. Giles, critically acclaimed author of Not an Easy Win
A warm, beautiful read. Ruby Lost and Found brings the most tender touch to a story brimming with hope and loving memory. — Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Foul Lady Fortune
A beautiful story balancing the ever-present question of what to fight for and what to let go of. Full of friendships, loss, and heart-wrenching realizations, Ruby Lost and Found is a guide to overcoming the inevitable. — M.T. Khan, author of Nura and the Immortal Palace
Readers will fall in love with Ruby and her quest to find joy, family, community, and friendship after a loss. — Sylvia Liu, author of Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
Death
Families
Family life
Grandparent and child
California
Grandfathers
San Francisco (Calif.)
Secrecy
Treasure hunt (Game)
Grief
Bakers and bakeries
Asian Americans
Bakeries
Chinatown (San Francisco, Calif.)
Intergenerational relations
Treasure hunting
Asian American families
Senior centers
