Shaw, struggling to understand the suicide of his famous author father, moves from Vancouver to Winnipeg with his mother and is finally able, with the help of his mom and new friends, to come to terms with his loss.
Alex Isaccson, burdened by the disappearance of his father and a mother who has not left her bed in twelve years, receives a life-changing shock when he goes searching for the truth.
In a town where cats are tormented, eleven-year-old Billy finds Conga, injured and unappealing, and hides her in his bedroom to recover, then begins a crusade to stop the cat killers and find a safe haven for strays.
Chuy works hard at the muffler shop to earn enough money to join his father in America, where together they create an army of "muffler men," statues made from old muffler parts, that they scatter around the city. Text in English and Spanish.
When an 1883 drought drives free-range cattlemen to shred Texas ranchers' barbed wire fences and steal water, thirteen-year-old Jesse works hard to help while dealing with his father and brother's falling-out and his own fear of guns.
After receiving an apparently crank call from a man claiming to have committed murder, fifteen-year-old Andy finds his close relationship with his father crumbling as he struggles to make everyone believe him.