bildungsromans

Contains a collection of short stories about various eleven-year-old protagonists whose encounters change them in different ways and expose them to the realities of adulthood.

When fourteen-year-old Gabe checks for survivors after a global pandemic he finds Relle, a strange hopeful girl for whom Gabe eventually develops a crush, but after they return to the mainland tragedy strikes, forcing Gabe to set out on a dangerous journey to find other survivors where the world might be normal--like Before.

Amir, haunted by his betrayal of Hassan, the son of his father's servant and a childhood friend, returns to Kabul as an adult after he learns Hassan has been killed, and attempts to redeem himself by rescuing Hassan's son from a life of slavery to a Taliban official.

"After their harrowing journey to the mainland to reason with the Shogun's forces, young islanders Hana and Kenichi have been separated, forced to find their own ways back to Ronin Island. Kenichi, cast out in exile, must survive the wilderness on his own and contend with new enemies. . . Hana must also navigate a dangerous foreign environment, as she travels back towards the island with Shogun's caravan alongside refugees from his fortress, and begins to learn more about the mutant threat"--Back cover.

"Hana and Kenichi are too young to remember the Great Wind, a catastrophic vent that devastated 19th century China, Korea, and Japan. They were raised in the aftermath on Ronin Island, where survivors found refuge in a place where differences were forgotten and a unified society was formed. But when the Shogunate comes back to power demanding a return to the ways of the past, Hand and Kenichi must prepare to defend their home and all that it represents from the warlord's forces--and confront an even more deadly threat clawing out the devastation of the Great Wind..."--Back cover.

"The culture festival begins, and Toma and Taichi talk about their futures, but it ends with the two not quite seeing eye to eye. Shortly after, Toma sits down with Mami for a serious discussion, and in response to her earnest openness, he makes a big decision that could change everything. Time keeps moving forward, pushing everyone to the cusp of making critical life choices"--Back cover.

Since her divorced parents could not agree on who gets her for summer vacation this year, Waverly Lyons finds her plans of exploring beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska, being replaced by a trip to muggy, too-hot Holden, Florida, to stay with her aunt. Her inability to swim makes the ocean unappealing, until she meets the super-hot boy-next-door Blake, whose friend-group welcomes her in. For the first time in her life, Waverly has friends and a love interest, but the days of summer are counting down.

Poppy's family has been running and hiding their identity for as long as she can remember and she's not sure why. Then a move to California prompts Poppy to take a chance and mail in a home DNA test. She settles in and even begins liking a boy in her math class when the results come back with the shocking truth, undoing decades of work to keep her family safe. Now Poppy is torn between running again and striking out alone to create her own life.

Fifteen-year-old Miriam Horton, the daughter of a famous Baptist minister, joins her family on the road every year for a series of revival meetings that her father holds where he heals desperate people. One season Miriam sees an act of violence. When the family returns home, Miriam discovers she can heal as well--even though her father and the church say a woman isn't able to heal. Now Miriam must decide between her family, her religion, and her power that could save others but destroy her.

Eliza Naumann is used to being the unremarkable member of her family, but when she wins a series of spelling bees, her once distant family begins to lavish praise on her, bringing about surprising complications.