Ruby Lost and Found: Chapters 1–4

by Christina Li
While struggling to deal with the death of her grandfather and the separation from her friends, thirteen-year-old Ruby Chu decides to ditch school and ends up spending time in both detention and her grandmother's apartment in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–10, Chapters 11–17, Chapters 18–27
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. apparently
    seemingly; as far as one can tell
    Apparently my refusing to read about dying puppies was concerning enough for Mrs. Marconi to say something during parent-teacher conferences, which led to that family meeting.
  2. virtually
    slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
    This apartment looked virtually the same from when I’d left it last, except now Ye-Ye was gone and neither Nai-Nai nor I wanted to be here together.
  3. slump
    assume a drooping posture or carriage
    “I can’t have you in this house alone. You’re going to wander right off into the city.”
    “I wouldn’t—” I slumped down. “That happened, like, twice. Besides, I’m thirteen. I’m too old to be watched.”
  4. strew
    spread by scattering
    Playing cards were strewn across one end of a table.
  5. dissipate
    go away, scatter, or disappear
    I looked up, feeling the steam dissipate from my cheeks.
  6. inkling
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
    I took a bite and savored the sweet, creamy egg custard, pressing down the inkling of worry in my chest.
  7. retort
    answer back
    Guess what? I retorted, in my head. It’s not like I wanted to be here, either.
  8. loquacious
    full of trivial conversation
    Mom called her luōsuo sometimes, which, in Mandarin, basically translated to someone who would talk your ear off. Viv called her loquacious.
  9. ramble
    continue talking or writing in a purposeless manner
    Nai-Nai would start a story a neighbor had told her, which would ramble on into ten other stories, and I would sit and listen to both of them, finishing each other’s sentences.
  10. neutrality
    nonparticipation in a dispute or war
    There was a lot of talk about the solar grid and something neutrality, whatever that meant. I used to hate that they were starting a business together, because it was the thing that got Mom and Dad to start fighting in the first place.
  11. bound
    move forward by leaping
    “Hey,” she said, bounding up from the couch.
  12. wring
    twist, squeeze, or compress in order to extract liquid
    She came out from the kitchen, wringing out a towel with her hands.
  13. practically
    almost; nearly
    I could practically feel Mia’s pity from three thousand miles away.
  14. furrow
    make or become wrinkled or creased
    “Really?” Mia’s brow furrowed. “That doesn’t sound like Naomi. I...could text her for you?”
  15. hamper
    a basket usually with a cover
    I rolled over and began taking my dirty clothes out of my duffel to put in my laundry hamper.
  16. jut
    extend out or project in space
    Ye-Ye said that San Francisco once looked like a giant thumb, jutting out into the water like that.
  17. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    Over the years, Ye-Ye had doodled on this map, and the routes unfurled like colorful threads.
  18. transfixed
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    I stood transfixed on the street, my stomach rumbling and my eyes glued to the char siu buns and the sesame balls and coconut bread in the window display.
  19. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    It was as if I was five again, grabbing on to Ye-Ye’s hand as he led me to the familiar bright red sign, where the warm aroma of toasted coconut and sweet cakes wafted out the door, and we promised every time we passed by here, we would stop in.
  20. fritter
    fried batter containing meat, vegetables, or fruit
    I stared longingly at the shelves in front of me, which were filled with egg tarts, pineapple buns, sponge cakes glistening with sugar glaze, and deep-fried dough fritters.
  21. devise
    come up with after a mental effort
    Ye-Ye had laid out the locations and devised the clues each year.
  22. consolation
    the comfort you feel when soothed in times of disappointment
    But his parents insisted on inviting us all over for dinner. My consolation this year was that Viv couldn’t get out of it, either.
  23. gush
    praise enthusiastically
    “Ruby, you’ve grown!” Aunt Tiffany gushed at me as she opened the door.
  24. wilt
    become fatigued; lose strength
    Dad insisted on watching me do my math homework at the kitchen table, and I could see him wilt a little as I pulled my crumpled sheets out of my backpack. “You need to organize, Ruby,” he said quietly.
  25. acquire
    come to have or undergo a change of
    Everyone’s attention was on Viv and that’s how I liked it. Now that I’d acquired some powers of invisibility, I tried to sneak a potsticker off a plate.
  26. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    I really would rather be grounded than hang out with my smug cousin.
  27. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    “The contract,” Mom said, exasperated. “I can’t believe you didn’t—”
  28. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    I trudged upstairs and closed the door to my bedroom.
  29. obnoxious
    causing disapproval or protest
    If it were last fall, I would be texting Naomi all the annoying things about Josh because she knew him from travel soccer, and she’d tell me a funny story about him and how obnoxious he was on the field.
  30. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    He turned to the person who I assumed was his grandmother, sitting in the chair right next to May Wong.
  31. elated
    exultantly proud and joyful; in high spirits
    And now she was practically elated with relief. “That’s great. Now you have a friend.”
  32. bristle
    react in an offended or angry manner
    “You kids can go bother each other now.”
    I bristled.
  33. dismissive
    showing indifference or disregard
    Why did she always have to sound so dismissive of us? “Yeah, you don’t have to babysit us anymore,” I said sarcastically.
  34. grate
    make a grinding sound by rubbing together
    I scooted out of the circle and off to the side, letting the chair grate against the floor so it annoyed Auntie Lin.
  35. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    “This is actually very cool,” Liam said, oblivious, as he plopped down on the chair right next to me.
  36. faze
    disturb the composure of
    For a second I wondered if I had gone too far. But Liam wasn’t fazed.
  37. deduce
    conclude by reasoning
    After a while, I deduced that this very-small-but-not-Wonder-Bread-small house was somewhere on Green Street, because Ye-Ye got all smiley when I made that guess and he wouldn’t include any words that weren’t parts of the clues.
  38. fruitless
    unproductive of success
    We passed the brunch spot that Mom and Dad liked to take us on special occasions and the Philz Coffee that Viv liked to hang out at with her friends. It was fruitless.
    “I don’t see anything.”
  39. fray
    wear away by rubbing
    The last book was fraying slightly at the spine, so I could just make out the title.
  40. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    I peered in and gingerly took it out.
Created on Sun Mar 24 17:34:19 EDT 2024 (updated Mon Mar 25 13:39:56 EDT 2024)

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