Ruby Lost and Found

By Christina Li

A girl navigates grief and change through scavenger hunts, family secrets, and a fight to save a bakery.

4.2/5 Goodreads · 786 ratings

304 pages· 63,739 words· Est. 9 hour read

$19.99Save 5%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

Thirteen-year-old Ruby Chu feels lost after her grandfather's death. Sent to a senior center for the summer, she reluctantly teams up with Liam, a classmate, to save a historic Chinatown bakery. As they retrace her grandfather's scavenger hunts, Ruby uncovers family secrets and discovers unexpected connections. Can she find her way through grief and change?

From the publisher

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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