Swore, Wendy S.

"Alexis, a 12-year-old native Hawaiian, is terrified of the ocean and the creatures that live there because of an encounter she had early in her life with a moray eel. Her mother, a civilian contractor for the Navy, likes to give Alexis elaborate puzzles to solve when she's away on assignments. One puzzle gets her working for her grumpy neighbor, who everyone calls Uncle Tanaka, helping him gather marine samples. She has to use all her problem-solving abilities and overcome her fear of the ocean when Uncle Tanaka is suddenly in distress"--Provided by publisher.

"When an injured peacock takes shelter in the barn on Paige's family farm, she hopes she has time to nurse it back to health before Paige's mom sells the farm. Paige promised her dad before he died that she would take care of the farm, but there's only so much a 12-year-old can do alone. She'll have to learn that sometimes it's okay to let go of something good if it means holding on to something better"--Provided by publisher.

Convinced that if she looks like a monster on the outside (a blood tumor covers half of her face), she must be a monster on the inside as well, Sophie tries to find a cure before her mother finds out the truth.

Convinced that if she looks like a monster on the outside (a blood tumor covers half of her face), she must be a monster on the inside as well, Sophie tries to find a cure before her mother finds out the truth.