As he relates the events leading up to the terrible accident that kills his "wild" and much-admired older brother and seven friends, Chris, as the lone survivor, tries to sort out his confused feelings of guilt, grief, and anger and to better understand the kind of person his brother really was.
Afraid that she is crazy, thirteen-year-old Mia, who sees a special color with every letter, number, and sound, keeps this a secret until she becomes overwhelmed by school, changing relationships, and the death of her beloved cat, Mango.
The Ladies' Society for the Conservation of Martinis--once dissolved under life-shattering circumstances and now reunited again after the death of one its members--discovers a letter that reveals a shocking secret and a final wish that will send the women on a life-changing journey ... proving that nothing is more powerful than the will of a true girlfriend and a good, strong martini.
Sixteen-year-old Carmel, California teenager Suze Simon is a typical high school student except for the fact that she is a "shifter" who can mediate between the living and the dead, and she is in love with a ghost from the nineteenth century.
Recounts the experience of Baptist minister Don Piper, who was pronounced dead at the scene of a car accident and experienced the glories of heaven for ninety minutes, but who miraculously came back to life, where he endured a long and painful recovery.
Twelve-year-old Janey tries to adjust in the aftermath of an automobile accident that kills her parents, severely injures her face, and forces her and her younger sister to move from Arizona to California to live with their grandfather and great-aunt.