Brand New School Brave New Ruby

Eight-year-old Ruby Booker, the only girl among four children, wakes up on the morning of her first day at Hope Road Academy. Her clock radio plays her favorite song, "Cotton Candy Clouds," by a pop group called the Crazy Cutie Crew, and Ruby leaps onto her bed to sing along at full volume. Her singing serves as an alarm clock for the whole household, and soon her mother (Ma) and three older brothers appear at her door, groggy and yawning. Ruby's brothers each have a nickname reflecting his personality: Marcellus, the oldest and a seventh grader, is called "Big-Time" because his many talents go to his head; Roosevelt, almost eleven and in sixth grade, is called "Ro Rowdy" because he is a prankster; and Tyner, almost ten but also in sixth grade because he skipped a grade, is called "Ty Noodles" because he is something like a genius. Ruby dresses in her signature purple-and-orange outfit with mismatched sneakers and grabs a guitar-shaped book bag that Ma sewed for her, reflecting Ruby's dream of becoming a rock star. She retrieves the bag from her pet iguana, Lady Love, a pampered creature who wears a fake diamond leash. Despite her outward excitement, Ruby's stomach turns with anxiety about starting at a new school.

The family gathers for breakfast. Daddy, who owns a neighborhood store called The Booker Box, cooks waffles, sausages, and eggs. Ty saves Ruby a plate with her favorite strawberry topping, while Ro steals food from Marcellus's plate as Marcellus admires his own reflection in the toaster. Ruby asks whether her best friend, Teresa Petticoat, has called. Teresa is also transferring to Hope Road from their old school, Lunar-Bigsby, which closed down, and Ruby hopes they will be in the same classroom. Ma, a former teacher who now runs her own dance studio, heads to work in a different direction from the children, and Ruby feels sad watching her leave.

When Ruby and her brothers arrive at Hope Road Academy, the grounds are packed with students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Ruby searches for Teresa but cannot find her. Marcellus reassures Ruby that the Booker name carries weight at this school and that being their sister will help her fit in. As soon as the siblings enter the grounds, swarms of students rush to the brothers, peppering them with questions and attention. Ruby is pushed to the back of the crowd and separated from her brothers, fighting back tears. Ty breaks free, finds Ruby, and walks her inside. They check the classroom assignment lists and discover Ruby is in a class taught by Miss Fuqua. All the classrooms at Hope Road are named after planets and space objects, and Ruby's is called Pluto-3. Teresa's name does not appear on Ruby's class list. Ty walks Ruby upstairs to her classroom door, reassures her that Miss Fuqua is fun, and encourages her to add her own flavor to the class.

Ruby enters Pluto-3 and is impressed by the colorful classroom. Miss Fuqua, a tall teacher with curly hair and silver bracelets, greets Ruby warmly. When Miss Fuqua asks each student to stand and introduce themselves, Ruby declares her love of trivia and her dream of becoming a rock star, snapping her fingers and stomping her feet. The class responds with enthusiasm. However, a classmate named Marquetta Loopy dismisses rock stars as noisy and silly, and Ruby fires back a sharp retort. When Miss Fuqua asks Ruby about siblings at the school, Ruby tries to mumble her answer, but the class presses her. She reveals her brothers' names, and the room erupts with excitement. Even Miss Fuqua gushes about Marcellus as one of her best former students. The attention shifts entirely to the Booker boys, and Ruby feels overshadowed.

Just then, the classroom door opens and Teresa walks in, having been reassigned to Pluto-3 after a mix-up with another student. Miss Fuqua seats Teresa at the empty desk next to Ruby, and the two girls perform their secret handshake under their desks.

Soon after, the principal, Miss Cherrybaum, announces over the PA system that someone has defaced every poster in the school by drawing purple glasses and beards on the faces, threatening a week's suspension for the culprit. Ro appears at the door of Pluto-3, faking a polite demeanor to charm Miss Fuqua into letting him speak to Ruby. In the hallway, he reveals that he committed the prank and asks Ruby to hide the purple marker in her guitar bag, reasoning that no one would suspect the new girl. Ruby refuses and instead gives him sponges and a spray bottle of soapy water, telling him to clean the posters himself. Ro agrees, noting the marker is washable, and thanks Ruby with a hug.

During Galaxy time, a creative free period, Ruby asks Miss Fuqua if she can sing for the class. Miss Fuqua agrees, but before Ruby can begin, the PA system announces a surprise Welcome Back assembly. There, the music teacher, Mr. Dilla, introduces Marcellus as his top student. Marcellus performs on piano, saxophone, flute, and xylophone, impressing the entire school. Ruby feels frustrated that her singing opportunity was cut short by her brother's showcase. When an older student heckles Marcellus, Ruby stands on her seat and intimidates the boy into silence, defending her brother even as she resents his spotlight. Back in the classroom, Ruby puts her head down on her desk, deflated.

During math time, Ruby volunteers to solve problems at the board and completes five addition and subtraction problems quickly and correctly, earning applause. Immediately afterward, the school counselor announces over the PA that Tyner Booker earned the highest grades and test scores in the school the previous year. Ruby feels her own math achievement has been eclipsed.

At recess, Ruby confides in Teresa about feeling overshadowed by all three brothers. Teresa reminds Ruby that she has her own gifts, especially her singing voice, which none of the Booker boys can match. The two girls start singing "Cotton Candy Clouds" together, and an idea strikes Ruby: She can sing for the whole school, and no one will be able to stop her. She keeps the plan secret.

With 30 minutes left in the school day, Miss Fuqua announces that Pluto-3 has been chosen to send a student to read the first-day-of-school announcements over the PA system, and she selects Ruby. Ruby races to the main office. Miss Cherrybaum tells Ruby she is counting on her, then steps away. Alone in the office, Ruby sees the golden PA microphone and the written announcements on the desk. Instead of reading the announcements, she turns on the microphone, introduces herself as Ruby Booker from Miss Fuqua's third-grade class, and sings "Cotton Candy Clouds" to the entire school. She hears students in nearby classrooms singing along. Miss Cherrybaum rushes in after Ruby finishes, and Ruby braces for punishment. Instead, the principal breaks into a smile, praises Ruby's voice, compares it to the legendary singer Ella Fitzgerald's, and invites her to come back and sing anytime. When Ruby returns to Pluto-3, Miss Fuqua and all her classmates, including Marquetta, give her a standing ovation.

As Ruby leaves the building, she hears students everywhere talking about the "cool Ruby girl" who sang on the PA. She meets her three brothers at the front gates, and they stand with arms folded, stunned into silence. On the walk home, none of the boys speak, but they smile and give her the "Booker bump" with their elbows, signaling respect. At their brownstone, Ty sits beside Ruby on the stoop and tells her he knew she could do it. He says the school needed her unique flavor and gives her a "pound of Booker," the family's special handshake that Daddy usually reserves for the boys. Ruby brings Lady Love outside and sits in the sunshine, reflecting on how good it feels to be on her way to becoming her own Booker, not just the Booker boys' little sister.