single-parent families

Nine years, five older siblings, a few beloved dogs, and an endless array of adventures--these are the things that have shaped Lydia's journey since readers first met her in The Penderwicks in Spring. Now it's summertime, and eleven-year-old Lydia is dancing at the bus stop, waiting for big sister Batty to get home from college. This is a very important dance and a very important wait because the two youngest sisters are about to arrive home to find out that the Penderwicks will all be returning to Arundel this summer, the place where it all began. And better still is the occasion: a good old-fashioned, homemade-by-Penderwicks wedding. The Penderwicks at Last is the final installment in the modern classic series.

Sparks fly when Beatrix Adams, seventeen, who strives to be a medical illustrator, meets Jack, one of San Francisco's most notorious graffiti artists, but even as Beatrix begins to uncover the secrets that have left Jack so wounded, her own family secrets threaten to tear them apart.

Upon returning from a year in Oregon to Texas and her alcoholic father, Kira is distressed to find three of her father's rehab friends staying at her home, while her own friends seem distant.

Penny wins a scholarship to a prestigious theater camp and thinks it's the start of a perfect summer. But at camp, she is thrust into a world of competition and self-doubt.

When eleven-year-old Robby takes drastic steps to stop his widowed father from developing a new love interest, his friend Beth has to step in and help him come to terms with the situation.

Told from multiple viewpoints, eighth graders Vee, Lulu, Megan, and Gwynneth enter a local television station's contest for the pair of students who can prove the longest-running "snapstreak.".

Thirteen-year-old Alex Landry is determined to recruit the new boy at Wisconsin's Kingsford Middle School, Miles Vaughn, to the snowboard team, because his skill is awesome, but Miles is taking care of his younger siblings while his mother works two jobs, and finding the time to attend practice is difficult, so Alex sets out to show him being a part of a team means you always have someone to share the load.

"To help his dog through cancer treatment, Conor gives up hockey and finds himself considering who he is without the sport that has defined him, and connecting more with his family and best friend"--Provided by publisher.

"Priyanka Das has so many unanswered questions: Why did her mother abandon her home in India years ago? What was it like there? And most importantly, who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? But Pri's mom avoids these questions--the topic of India is permanently closed. For Pri, her mother's homeland can only exist in her imagination. That is, until she find a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase. When she wraps herself in it, she is transported to a place more vivid and colorful than any guidebook or Bollywood film. But is this the real India? And what is that shadow lurking in the background? To learn the truth Pri must travel farther than she's ever dared and find the family she never knew"--Back cover.

"When Marvin Johnson's twin brother, Tyler, is shot and killed by a police officer, Marvin must fight injustice to learn the true meaning of freedom"--Provided by publisher.