Sixteen-year-old Amy Nelson's plans for her summer vacation must be put aside when her father--a man who has shown up rarely in her life--decides it is time to take her to Israel to meet a family she has never known.
Starting in 1972 when she is nine years old, Ling, the daughter of two doctors, struggles to make sense of the communists' Cultural Revolution, which empties stores of food, homes of appliances deemed "bourgeois, " and people of laughter.
Realizing that a mysterious force has taken over the village where they are staying with their grandmother, twins Rachel and Adam begin to look into the mystery of the bees--unearthing a secret about the village and their own family.
When fifteen-year-old Claire Voyante's grandmother gives her a cameo for her birthday, she starts having dreams that seem to be telling her something that has to do with her new, wealthy friend being in danger.
Leah, who was conceived through a donor bank, decides that even though she loves her mother, stepfather, and stepbrother, she wants to find out if she has any other siblings, and sets out to investigate without telling anyone what she is doing.
After her father leaves and marries the glamorous Ava Pomme, Madeline blames her mother for their difficult new life, but in spite of the twelve-year-old's efforts to achieve sainthood, it takes a summer trip to Italy to put her family into perspective.
Jack the labrador retriever tells the tale of his adventures at home and with his old friend Rebel, the police dog, and how the two of them broke up a burglary ring that had been robbing houses while police were occupied with political protests. Includes explanatory footnotes written by the cats, and a glossary explaining Jack's terminology.
Thirteen-year-old Ruby feels her life is over when she learns that her parents are splitting up at the same time she hears rumors that she will be fired soon from the television soap opera she has worked on since age six.
In 1953 in Chicago, Ruth struggles to deal with her parents' constant arguing, taking care of her younger brothers, one of whom is mentally disabled, and getting along in middle school.
Tyray Hobbs, once among the most feared students at Bluford High, loses his reputation after being humiliated by Darrell Mercer, and with a broken hand, troubled family, and no friends, decides to use a gun to get revenge.
