Summary

Section 3, “Thirteen, or a Few Interesting Facts about Maine,” is told from Ruby’s perspective. The section jumps ahead five years, to when Ruby is 13 years old. The entire sections is told through emails that Ruby sends to her new pen pal Fatima that her favorite teacher, Ms. Reacher, who is transgender, assigned her. The reader only has access to Ruby’s emails and never gets to see Fatima’s side of the conversation.

Ruby is in eight grade and is bullied everyday at school, despite - or perhaps because of - her extreme intelligence. She eats alone and has no friends. She is excited and curious to learn that Fatima is Muslim, and has many questions about her culture and country. Ruby reveals that she works for her mother’s company and has saved up almost $4,000. She also reveals that her mother, who...