Theft of the Ruby Lotus
Sayantani DasGupta
Released Apr 21, 2026 · Scholastic Press
Content report card
What's inside
Violence
Fighting, weapons, death
Language
Swearing, crude humor
Sexual content
Romance intensity, nudity
LGBTQ+ themes
Presence of characters or themes
Scary or mature
Horror, trauma, heavy themes
Substance use
Alcohol, drugs, smoking
What it offers
Positive messages
Kindness, courage, honesty, resilience
Positive role models
Characters who model good judgment and growth
Educational value
History, science, culture, how the world works
A note for parents
This is a contemporary middle-grade heist mystery centered on three diverse friends investigating a ruby at the Met, with themes of art repatriation and immigrant families. The story emphasizes friendship, cultural heritage, and ethical questions about art ownership, offering strong positive messages and role models through protagonists working together. While there are mysterious strangers and pursuit elements typical of heist stories, the content appears age-appropriate for upper middle-grade readers with minimal violence or mature themes.
Analyzed by AI · 19 hours ago
From the publisher
Ria Bailey finds herself in quite a fix, and it's all because of a strange treasure that turns up in the mail one fateful day. It might be a ruby, and it just might hold the key to some troubling developments in her life. Most importantly, if she and her besties Miracle Owusu and Annie Hernandez can trace the significa... Ria Bailey finds herself in quite a fix, and it's all because of a strange treasure that turns up in the mail one fateful day. It might be a ruby, and it just might hold the key to some troubling developments in her life. Most importantly, if she and her besties Miracle Owusu and Annie Hernandez can trace the significance and stay one step ahead of the mysterious strangers tracking their moves through the Metropolitan Museum of Art and out into the city streets of New York, then just maybe Ria can turn things around for herself. Sayantani DasGupta returns in rare form with a brand new story that's part love letter to the Metropolitan Museum and New York City immigrant families, part twisting and turning heist, and completely an examination of where art belongs, who gets to keep it, and what it means to be on display.
Shelved under
- Juvenile Fiction
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ISBN 9781338766875 · Scholastic Press