runaway children

Ever since her mother left, Maia has struggled with depression, which has only gotten worse since her father remarried; so Maia decides to run away to Canada to find her mother, together with Billy, a boy who now lives in a group home and has his own family tragedy--but when they finally arrive in Tadoussac, Quebec, Maia discovers that even her mother has been keeping secrets.

"Twelve-year-old Lizzy Sherman believes there are signs everywhere that can help her keep her family safe, so when she begins helping a runaway girl her own age--a stranger to their small town in Maine--Lizzy hopes that she, too, can protect Lizzy's family"--OCLC.

When Keena goes missing before her big art show, Xriss knows something is wrong. He follows clues to find her and quickly discovers that he's not the only one looking. Her abusive father and a local gang are both on her trail. Xriss needs to find Keena before it's too late.

Having escaped from juvenile detention centers and foster care, two teenaged boys live on their own in an abandoned shack in a New York City park, making their way by stealing, occasionally working, and trying to keep from being arrested.

Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life.

"After discovering shocking truths about his past, as well as the secret origins of Doctor Once, the Patchwork Planet, and the deadly Baalikar, Erik begins a dangerous new quest to defeat Baalikar once and for all. But this is not something Erik can do alone--he must somehow convince the devastated populaces of the planet's cities to come out of hiding and unite against their common foe"--Back cover.

Huck Finn, the son of the town drunk, and Jim, an escaped slave, make a break for freedom down the vast Mississippi River on a raft.

"Erik has faced one frightening truth after another-from the realization that he will never return to his previous life on Earth to what really happened to his friend Zandra and her shocking connection to Doctor Once-but now he's in the battle of his life, as he attempts to save the Patchwork Planet from the all-powerful, shape-shifting, monster Baalikar! Can Erik and his friends, along with the combined forces from around the globe, even hope to defat Baalikar-the dreaded entity that engineered this twisted new reality?"--Back cover.

Sita (A.K.A . Squishy) has moved in with her father and his new family, which includes a pair of twin girls (Jessie and Vee) while her mother is away on a security assignment in Geneva, and she is finding her "bonus sisters" difficult to get along with even though they are only five months older--but when Vee finds out that Squishy is feeding a runaway boy who is hiding in the apartment house garage the two girls discover that a shared secret can be the starting point of a firm friendship.

Felicity, seventeen, has struggled to meet her mother's expectations since her older sister disappeared but when she connects with a famous band member at a charity ball, she begins to consider what will make her truly happy.