juvenile fiction / disabilities

With a family who refuses to learn sign language, twelve-year-old Effie is mostly cut off from human communication at home, unable to speak of her abusive stepfather or violent father--only her interpreter understands, and Miss Kathy is willing to take Effie's case to court to provide her with a safe home. Told in verse.

Bay Ann is sure her tap dance will shine at the school talent show, but when her crush, Alyee Maq, catches her before she falls (which was his fault anyway) and gets all the "fame" she is determined to beat him at his own attention-seeking game.

Thirteen-year-old Nat jumps at the chance to participate in the middle school regional theater competition where the winner gets to perform on Broadway, but when stressful rehearsals negatively impact her friendships, she starts to wonder if it is worth doing theater at all.