Frankie Stein, created in a laboratory, enters Mount Hood High School camouflaged as a "normi," and all she wants is to fit in, but it takes the help of another new student who believes that everyone should be treated equally before Frankie even has a chance.
Teenager Ronnie's life is transformed by the murder of a ten-year-old neighbor for whom she babysat, and who had helped Ronnie adjust to living at a country inn on the banks of the Santiam River in Hoodoo, Oregon.
Scarlet, an introverted high school junior surrounded by outcasts who find her a good listener, learns to break old patterns and reach for hope when her pregnant sister moves home with her new husband, with whom Scarlet feels an instant connection.
Shortly after he gets the perfect dog, Riley, eleven-year-old William must fight for his dog's life after Riley is taken away because he chases and injures an elderly neighbor's old horse.
In 1959 in Oregon, thirteen-year-old Mary Elizabeth rides with her father to kill the wild stallion that is luring away horses from their ranch and ruining their livelihood, but she secretly wants to save his life.
Sent to live with her chef father and his wife in Oregon after having stayed with her inventor uncle and scientist mother in Cincinnati, ten-year-old misfit Megan is lonely until she starts working with some computer-savvy mice to try to save Mouse Nation--and the planet.
In Acton, Oregon, sisters Alex, Stevie, and Joey take turns telling about their lives, including auditioning for the same part in the school musical, baking contest-worthy cupcakes, and becoming obsessed with "Little Women.".
