Caletti, Deb

In the summer of her junior year, sixteen-year-old Ruby McQueen and her mother, both nursing broken hearts, set out on a journey to reunite an elderly woman with her long-lost love, and in the process, learn many things about "the real ties that bind" people to one another.

In the summer of her junior year, sixteen-year-old Ruby McQueen and her mother, both nursing broken hearts, set out on a journey to reunite an elderly woman with her long-lost love, and in the process, learn many things about "the real ties that bind" people to one another.

Clara and her father travel to a remote region of Washington State when she notices that her boyfriend, Christian, is developing obsessive behaviors, and after arriving, Clara meets two brothers who captain a sailboat, a lighthouse keeper who is hiding something, and a friend of her father who knows the lighthouse keeper's secret.

Eighteen-year-old Indigo is looking forward to becoming a full-time waitress after high school graduation, but her life is turned upside down by a large check given to her by a customer who appreciates that she cares enough to scold him about smoking.

Seattle high school senior Jade's life is defined by her anxiety disorder and dysfunctional family, until she spies a mysterious boy with a baby who seems to share her fascination with the elephants at a nearby zoo.

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.

Seventeen-year-old Cassie, trying to deal with life in the household of her eccentric, paranoid stepfather, Dino, a genius composer and violin player, makes matters even worse when she begins dating Dino's student, a violin prodigy who does not need anything to distract him from practicing for an important audition.

High school junior Jordan MacKenzie finds her ordinary life spinning out of control when her father, a predictable optometrist she has been living with since her parents' divorce, suddenly steps out of character and becomes involved with a married woman.

In the summer of her junior year, sixteen-year-old Ruby McQueen and her mother, both nursing broken hearts, set out on a journey to reunite an elderly woman with her long-lost love and in the process learn many things about "the real ties that bind" people to one another.

Eighteen-year-old Cricket, having decided to take a break from her long-time boyfriend to sort out her love life, spends a week preparing for her mother's wedding and finds her life getting even more complicated by stepsisters who are against the marriage, a family secret revealed by her grandfather, the arrival of her mom's soon-to-be husband's ex, and feelings for a sweet and sexy guy she just met.