A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and -- lately -- concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim...

"While learning about September 11th, fifth grader Dèja (born after the attacks) realizes how much the events still color her world"--

Sixteen-year-old Valerie, whose boyfriend Nick committed a school shooting at the end of their junior year, struggles to cope with integrating herself back into high school life, unsure herself whether she was a hero or a villain.

"Elliot North fights to save her family's land and her own heart in this post-apocalyptic reimaging of Jane Austen's PERSUASION"--

After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.

Incarcerated teen Quan Banks writes letters to Justyce McCallister, with whom he bonded years before over family issues, about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system.

Sixth-grader Meg Summers and her family move to a new state every few years as her alcoholic father tries to get a fresh start, but when they land in Indiana and Meg finally makes a real friend and begins to talk about her family's problems, they all find the strength to try to change their destiny.

Written in the form of interviews, reports, and journal entries, the story of three troubled teenagers ends in a tragic school shooting.

Publisher Annotation: Benjamin Waterfalls comes from a broken home, and the quickest fix he's found for his life is to fill that emptiness with stuff he steals and then sells. But he's been caught one too many times, and when he appears before a tough judge, his mother proposes sending him to "boot camp" at the Ojibwe reservation where they used to live. Soon he is on his way to Grand Portage, Minnesota, to live with his father - the man Benny hasn't...