Ruby on the Outside

Written by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Ruby's secret threatens her new friendship and everything she holds dear.

4.0 Goodreads · 1,490 ratings

176 pages· 32,018 words· Est. 3.5 hour read· 720L

$18.99Save 7%

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Bookroo's summary

Eleven-year-old Ruby Danes faces a dilemma as she starts middle school. Her mother is in prison, a secret only her aunt knows. When Ruby befriends Margalit Tipps, she wonders if she can reveal the truth. But Margalit's family history is tied to the event that landed Ruby's mom in prison. If Ruby confesses, she risks losing her first true friend and everything she values. Can Ruby navigate this tangled web of secrets and friendship without losing it all?

From the publisher

Ruby’s mom is in prison, and to tell anyone the truth is to risk true friendship in this novel from the author of The Summer Before Boys that accurately and sensitively addresses a subject too often overlooked. Eleven-year-old Ruby Danes is about to start middle school, and only her aunt knows her deepest, darkest, most secret secret: her mother is in prison. Then Margalit Tipps moves into Ruby’s condo complex, and the two immediately hit it off. Ruby thinks she’s found her first true-blue friend–but can she tell Margalit the truth about her mom? Maybe not. Because it turns out that Margalit’s family history seems closely connected to the very event that put her mother in prison, and if Ruby comes clean, she could lose everything she cares about most.

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