child abuse

In March of 1887, Rocco, an eleven-year-old from an Italian village, arrives in New York City where he is forced to live in squalor and beg for money as a street musician, but he finds the city's cruelty to children and animals intolerable and sets out to make things better, whatever the cost to himself.

16-year-old Gabe was once abducted and severely abused. Having escaped a few years ago and gone through significant therapy, he is almost back to normal. Except, his mother Yvonne realizes he has some serious anger issues to deal with when he almost beats a fellow teen to death for messing with his new car. Yvonne keeps his issues from the rest of the family, which may prove to be a huge mistake when tensions between Gabe and his father Ben rise. Ben has problems of his own involving alcohol, resulting in him having loose lips. What if Ben accidentally reveals the family's dark secret to Gabe? Then there is the Swedish intern who's hellbent on destroying Ben for rejecting her advances, going after Gabe instead. One day, it all comes to a head, and the consequences are terrifying.

Stay-at-home mom Yvonne Landis enters her kitchen one day to meet a huge surprise: seated on a chair is her son, Gabe. He went missing when he was ten years old, more than three years ago. It turns out he was abducted by pedophiles who tortured him and forced him to make horrific pornos. Extremely traumatized, he acts strangely and barely speaks. Yvonne is determined to heal Gabe. He?ll stay at home and work daily with a trauma therapist. Her husband Ben is not completely onboard with that idea, especially since Gabe stabbed him with a fork shortly after they were reunited. Then disturbing things happen to their younger son, 9-year old Joseph, and Gabe may be behind those too.

Fourteen-year-old Stark McClellan, also known as Stick, has always had his older brother, Bosten, to help protect him from the bullies who teased him for being born with only one ear, but when Stick realizes that Bosten is gay and their abusive father's reaction will be dangerous, Bosten must leave and Stick goes looking for him.

Intruders kill Luke Ellis's parents and kidnap him in under two minutes. He is taken to the Institute where kids with special powers are housed and experimented on deep in the woods. The staff are ruthless in extracting powers, and children who don't behave are moved from the Front Half to the feared Back Half from which no children return. As children continue to disappear to the Back Half, Luke grows more and more desperate to escape.

Presents nine essays that explore child-rearing practices and child maltreatment from the perspective of a wide range of social and environmental conditions.

When the new girl at Hazelwood Jr. High finds herself in the middle of a love triangle, her rival plots revenge.

"A seventeen year old barely escapes her abusive parents and creates a new identity that is quickly compromised when her attempt to save a young girl attracts a deadly stalker"--Provided by publisher.

Matt and his sisters, abused by their volatile mother, see a spark of hope when she begins dating Murdoch, but when he leaves, Matt knows it is time to take action if he and his siblings are going to survive.

When she is abandoned by her alcoholic mother, high school senior Ruby winds up living with Cora, the sister she has not seen for ten years, and learns about Cora's new life, what makes a family, how to allow people to help her when she needs it, and that she too has something to offer others.