Van Draanen, Wendelin

Thirteen-year-old Sammy's penchant for speaking her mind gets her in trouble when she involves herself in the investigation of a robbery at the "seedy" hotel across the street from the seniors' building where she is living with her grandmother.

Two thirteen-year-old boys share neighborhood adventures, complaints about their older sisters, family secrets, and even guilt that bind them together in a special friendship.

When a school bus accident leaves sixteen-year-old Jessica an amputee, she returns to school with a prosthetic limb and her track team finds a wonderful way to help rekindle her dream of running again.

After running away from her fifth foster home, Holly, a twelve-year-old orphan, travels across the country, keeping a journal of her experiences and struggle to survive.

Thirteen-year-old Sammy's penchant for speaking her mind gets her in trouble when she involves herself in the investigation of a robbery at the "seedy" hotel across the street from the seniors' building where she is living with her grandmother.

When the diabolical Damien Black robs a bank and steals a tiger-eye of great sentimental value, he is pursued by thirteen-year-old Dave Sanchez and his sidekick, a talking gecko named Sticky, who are armed with a magical Aztec armband.

Thirteen-year-old Dave and Sticky, his kleptomaniac sidekick gecko, try to keep a special potion from falling into the hands of the diabolical Damien Black.

Dave and Sticky learn their new substitute teacher is Damien Black and fear the dastardly treasure hunter is behind Ms. Krockle's disappearance.

During a detour through a graveyard on Halloween night, junior high detective Sammy Keyes and her friends stumble upon a mystery involving three missing people, two human skulls, and an embalmer; meanwhile, Sammy must decide whether or not to tell on a classmate who she spotted beating up a man on Halloween night.

After running away from her fifth foster home, Holly, a twelve-year-old orphan, travels across the country, keeping a journal of her experiences and struggle to survive.