its chain, replaces it with the key to Cora and Jamie's house, and hands the necklace to Nate. At the end of the school year, Ruby gives her English report on the meaning of family. For evidence, she shows two pictures, both of family. The first was of Jamie's huge family, while the second was taken at Ruby's eighteenth birthday party. After trying for months, Cora learns she is finally pregnant, and Ruby is accepted to the same university as Nate. She wants to write a letter to her mother, but not knowing what to say, simply mails a copy of her acceptance letter. At the end of the novel, she stands in the backyard, and as Cora and Jamie are calling for her to leave for her graduation, she takes out the old key to the yellow house from the pocket of her robe and drops it into the koi pond. Characters Ruby Cooper is the protagonist of the story, a seventeen-year-old who was abandoned by her mother. She lived by herself for two months, but is shipped to live with her sister, Cora, who'd left when Ruby was eight, after the government finds out. Ruby is convinced she can take care of herself, but later finds otherwise. She is sarcastic and independent, but changes her cynical worldview as the story develops. She has inherited many physical features from her mother, both described to have pale skin, red hair, and a tall-wiry frame. Cora Cooper-Hunter is Ruby's older sister, though they look nothing alike. She left for college when Ruby was eight, and married Jamie Hunter two years later. She tried to keep in contact with Ruby, but her mother continually moved and put fake addresses in Ruby's school records. Cora tries to get pregnant throughout the story. She finds out she is pregnant at the end of the novel. Cora is described to have dark hair and have a curvy shape. Nate Cross is Jamie and Cora's neighbor. He is a senior, like Ruby, and carpools with her every day. He is constantly helping Ruby when no one else is there for her, although she does not think she needs anything from him. Nate works for his father's business "Rest Assured" and is often abused when his dad loses his temper. He was a swimmer, but quit when his father became too involved in it. He is friendly,