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Ruby's Mom leaves
This sets up the entire plot for the story and gets the events moving.
Ruby’s mom is poor and was living with Ruby in a small yellow house, barely sustaining herself, she is a messy alcoholic. This led Ruby to live with Cora and Jamie, and helped her find a new, better life. -
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Beginning-End
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Ruby Moves in with Cora and Jamie
After her mom leaves, Ruby moves in with her sister, Cora, and her husband, Jamie. Ruby has not talked to her sister for many years, and is mad because of this loss of contact. Also, the two live in a very rich part of town with a very different lifestyle, which helps Ruby change into a better person. -
Ruby gets a job
Ruby gets a job working at a jewelry cart in the mall. She is working for Harriet, a very paranoid woman in her 30’s, who had a help wanted sign up for 6 months until actually hiring Ruby. Over the course of the book, they learn about each other, become friends, help each other with problems, and Ruby even helps Harriet greatly improve her business. -
Starts going to Perkins Day
Ruby is forced to go to Perkins Day, a rich private school near Cora’s house, and has to adjust to the completely different lifestyle. This event helps Ruby turn her life around, get better grades, and even make more friends. -
Becomes friends with Nate
Ruby becomes friends with Nate, a rich boy who lives behind her, and has low expectations but is very surprised. This is Ruby’s strongest relationship in the book and Nate teaches her who she really is, while she helps him overcome some of his issues. -
Serious talk with Cora
Ruby has a talk with her sister, Cora, about their mom. Ruby learns that Cora did not leave for college and ignore them like her mother had told her so many times before. The truth was that Cora actually tried many times to contact Ruby, take her away from her drunken mother, and even tried to invite Ruby to her wedding. -
Thanksgiving
In which Cora and Jamie have a party with all their friends and family. Ruby has to learn again what family means and what is means to be a genuinely nice hospitable person. She also learns that Nate is being abused by his father, and tries to help. -
Christmas
On Christmas, Ruby is opened up to many traditions and even the holiday itself, which she had never celebrated with her mother. She learns to enjoy it, dressses up, and walks around with Cora and Jamie handing out gifts, but when she wants to give one to Nate, she had the rude awakening that his father is more violent than ever. -
Nate runs away
Suddenly, Nate runs away due to all the madness goin on in his life. His father being violent, he and Ruby separating, school, work pressures, etc. This frightens Ruby, who finds him, pieces their relationship back together, and helps sned him to a safer place away from his violent father. -
Graduation
This closes the book, where the reader learns that Ruby has gotten her life together. She got a college acceptance, raised her grades, her friends are safe, and she is graduating. This is a very nice closing point to the book that really sums up all the conflict.
