When the family's drugstore is failing, seventh-grader Lucy uses her problem solving talents to come up with solution that might resuscitate the business, along with helping the environment.

When twelve-year-old Nell and her best friend, Lydia, are forbidden to see each other, they hatch a plan to spend their summer days in an abandoned miniature golf course, where they soon find others in search of a home.

"A newbie to the track team, Patina "Patty" Jones must learn to rely on her family and teammates as she tries to outrun her personal demons"--

"Four sisters rely on each other--and a bit of mysterious magic--to cope with their mother's illness"--

"While learning about September 11th, fifth grader D�eja (born after the attacks) realizes how much the events still color her world"--

When Angel's self-absorbed mother leaves her and her younger brother with their poor great-grandmother, the eleven-year-old girl worries not only about her mother and brother, her imprisoned father, the frail old woman, but also about a mysterious man who begins sharing with her the wonder of the stars.

When a lost dog helps Laura find a way home to her family, they discover family in each other along the way.

When Lauren begins stealing to raise money for autistic kids, like her brother, who don't have her family's resources, she convinces Sierra, a foster child, to help with the Robin Hood scheme, in a story told half in prose and half in verse.

Soon after his family's move to small-town Nevada, rising seventh-grader Gideon befriends an intriguing neighbor, Rooney, who is hiding secrets about her past.

With the help of an orphaned badger, a risk-averse boy in a hazmat suit, and the town's librarians, Leeva sets off to discover her own answer to the question "what are people for?"--setting off a chain of events that will change Nutsmore forever.