"In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself."--

Massachusetts thirteen year old Clare, grieving after her mother's recent death, reluctantly travels with her father to spend nine weeks in a remote village in Malawi, where new friends and experiences help open her mind and heart.

With insight and a light touch, best-selling, Newbery Honor-winning author Gary D. Schmidt tells two poignant, linked stories: that of a grieving girl and a boy trying to escape his violent past. Following the death of her closest friend in summer 1968, Meryl Lee Kowalski goes off to St. Elene's Preparatory Academy for Girls, where she struggles to navigate the venerable boarding school's traditions and a social structure heavily weighted toward students...

When her girlfriend dies suddenly at age seventeen, Colorado teenager Alix struggles with grief as painful secrets are revealed.

Sixteen-year-old Willow, who was driving the car that killed both of her parents, copes with the pain and guilt by cutting herself, until she meets a smart and sensitive boy who is determined to help her stop.

""After her mother dies, twelve-year-old Talia McQuinn goes to the Arctic with her father, a whale researcher. Over the course of one summer, and through several unlikely friendships, Talia learns that stories have the power to connect us, to provide hope, and to pull us out of the darkness""--

Although Kobi's parents sailed into a storm five years ago, she believes they are alive, and when she is sent from her grandmother's luxurious Paris apartment to live with an uncle in Iowa, Kobi tells lies that soon catch up with her.

Twelve-year-old Mitch and his mother are spending the summer with his grandparents at Bird Lake after his parents separate, and ten-year-old Spencer and his family have returned to the lake where Spencer's little brother drowned long ago, and as the boys become friends and spend time together, each of them begins to heal.

"In 1948, 12-year-old Amil, who is both Muslim and Hindu, struggles to find his place in Bombay, India, until his twin sister suggests he tell his story through drawings meant for their late mother as he tries to find hope and a sense of belonging in a chaotic world"--

Publisher Annotation: The highly anticipated standalone from the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the Graceling Realm series?a kaleidoscopic novel about grief, adventure, storytelling, and finding yourself in a world of seemingly infinite choices.