Thirteen-year-old Mary Lou grows up considerably during the summer while learning about romance, homesickness, death, and her cousin's search for his biological father.
Rosie, Lily, and Tess, three cousins who are living together with their aunt, decide to make a miniature flower shop just like Aunt Lucy's real shop, and give it to her as a gift.
When Cousin Henry gets all the attention in the grown-up musical in which they have roles, Angelina becomes jealous, but she demonstrates her fondness for him when a crisis occurs on opening night.
Adam, a pitcher for the Scrappers, feels a lot of pressure when they have a shot at the championship, particularly when he has to pitch against his cousin on a rival team.
When Woodrow's mother suddenly disappears, he moves to his grandparents' home in a small Virginia town where he befriends his cousin and together they find the strength to face the terrible losses and fears in their lives.
When Rex accompanies Pinky and his relatives on their traditional trip to pick and carve pumpkins, she feels left out because of the jealous behavior of Pinky's cousin Abby.
As American bombs fall on Baghdad during the Iraq War, ten-year-old cousins Nouri and Talib witness the growing violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Fone Bone and Thorn, trapped in a dungeon, manage to escape and join Thorn's grandmother in a battle against the rat creatures before leaving on a quest to find the Crown of Thorns and end the war.
