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Ezzie has friends and a loving family who never maker her feel that she is "fat." But sometimes schoolmates tease her. Ezzie's bravery makes others realize she is more than simply "the fat girl." For ages 6-10

My name is Lee Mets (honest), and this is my book I’m part of the writing club, which is fantastic, since what I want to be most is a writer. My mother says that girls don’t grow up to be writers, they can only be nurses or teachers. But it’s the 1960s, not the 50s or 40s, and I think she may be wrong. Mrs. Gowdy, who is my writing teacher, says that I have a gift. I’m going to use it to tell you the story of my summer. It was a summer that was both wonderful and terribly sad. The sad part is still painful for me to write about, but I will because that’s what writers do.

Poppy isn't very pleased. Her father is a pain. And the worst of it is that she is stuck with him for a whole weekend while her mother and brother are away. Suddenly, the monster on the cereal box miraculously comes to life. He is wonderfully understanding, ready to make her problems all disappear -- literally -- including her father!

Tory has been bumped from foster home to foster home for most of her nine years. Living with yet another new family, this time on a horse ranch for the summer, she falls in love with Lucky, the friendly pony she is allowed to ride. A nearby forest fire forces the family to evacuate, and Tory is devastated when Lucky has to be left behind. With no choice but to stay in town until it’s safe to go back to the ranch, Tory feels as out of place as ever, and her worry for Lucky’s safety makes matters worse. Like Tory, Lucky is a survivor.

Thirteen-year-old Rabia, along with her mother and younger brother, flee Afghanistan and the brutal Taliban for Pakistan. Relocating to North America, their flight falls on the fateful morning of 9/11. After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, their plane is diverted to Gander, Newfoundland. Also on the plane is an American boy named Colin, who struggles with his prejudices against Rabia and her family.

Her name is Sadie, but she might as well be called Fostergirl. Grouphomegirl. That’s how everyone thinks of her. Sadie doesn’t care. In fact, she’d be happier if they didn’t think of her at all. Her goal is to go unnoticed, to disappear. After living in twelve different foster homes, Sadie’s learned that nothing good comes from being noticed. Now here she is again, this time in a small town. There’s a new high school, another new group home to get used to – lucky number 13. But Sadie’s not finding it easy to stay beneath the radar.

It's 1977, and Mary-Eve Hamilton (Mary for the Mother of God, Eve for the mother of mankind) is plodding through her final year at Eleusis High School. Mary-Eve's mother, famed prophetess at the Waiting for the Rapture End Times Tabernacle, regularly has visions, foams at the mouth, and falls down rigid. Her father, a popular deacon, hides his abuse behind a Sunday morning facade. Mary-Eve herself appears to be a dutiful teenager, her entire life regulated by the prescriptive rules of their church.

Seventeen-year-old Maddie has always felt a hole in her life, but she has finally found a way to fill it with her quest to mold her body into her ideal, thinnest shape. When she comes across the world of “thinspiration” websites, where young people encourage each other in their mission to lose weight, she quickly becomes addicted. Finally, she has found a place where she is understood and where she can belong. Maddie becomes a part of a group of friends who call themselves the GWS, “Girls Without Shadows”, on the pro-anorexia website thinandbeautiful.com.

A unique and much-needed collection, The Smart Princess takes readers inside the fantasies, dreams and disappointments of young people who are Deaf. This book is written and illustrated by winners of a national competition, the Ladder Awards, organized by the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf. In one tale a princess runs away when her intolerant aunt does not allow her to sign. Another story looks at the experience of a Deaf child at a hearing school. Two strangers, one giant and one tiny, become friends despite their difficulties in seeing each other sign.

Ryan finds his freedom in the water, where he is not bound by gravity and his wheelchair. When he rescues his schoolmate, Jack, from the water their lives become connected, whether they like it or not. Ryan keeps Jack's secret about that day in the water, but he knows that Jack needs help. The school is full of rumors about Jack's sexuality, and he has few friends. Almost against his better judgement, Ryan decides to invite Jack on a trip to Comic Con he's planned with his best friend Cody, the captain of the school's swim team.