As 11-year-old Hope struggles to live under the pressures of her verbally abusive mother, she's tempted to run away but instead chooses resilience. She creates a secret safe haven and an innovative point system (giving herself points for every bad thing her mother says to her); finds comfort and inspiration from Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl; and gains a support team. Ultimately, Hope is able to confront her mother about her hurtful words and help her begin to change.

Oregon teenager and tennis champ Jeff McKenzie can't wait for summer vacation. But when he decides to take his Bronco for a joyride on the Hamptons' farm land, he gets into real hot water. As punishment Jeff is ordered to work on the farm for the first few weeks of summer. Getting up early and working with Mexican immigrants just doesn't appeal to him. The only thing he looks forward to is seeing the Hamptons' eldest daughter Alexa, who he is quickly falling for. Gradually he comes to appr...

Charley Maplewood has never been one for parties? that would require friends, which he doesn?t have. But now that he?s turning ten?the big oneoh? he decides to throw a birthday party for himself. Of course things don?t work out as he plans. In trying to make friends, he ends up inviting the class bully, and that?s before he ruins the cake and sets the garage on fire. Will Charley be able to pull it together before the big one-oh . . . becomes the big OH-NO?

It is 1943, and 11-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is traveling west on a train to live with her scientist father—but no one, not her father nor the military guardians who accompany her, will tell her exactly where he is. When she reaches Los Alamos, New Mexico, she learns why: he's working on a top secret government program. Over the next few years, Dewey gets to know eminent scientists, starts tinkering with her own mechanical projects, becomes friends with a budding artist who is as much of a m...

A teenage boy faces his past and seeks redemption in the gripping companion book to Red KayakNine months in a juvenile detention facility was the punishment for his crime. After just a month he makes a bold escape that nearly kills him and soon an angry fourteen-year-old Digger is on the run. When injuries stop him, Digger hides at a riverside campground, where he befriends a young boy and a girl his own age. New friends, a job caring for rescued horses, a...

Angel Goodeboy is a perfect angel . . .You can almost picture a halo over his head! He even wears a T-shirt that says "Mommy's Little Angel."Bernie Bridges is horrified when Mrs. Heinie makes him share his room with Angel. She wants Angel's goodness to rub off on Bernie. But wait a minute—when no teachers are watching, Angel is no angel!The little sneak takes over Bernie's room. He steals away Bernie's friends. He charms Bernie's girlfriend. Everyone loves Angel—eve...

When life in his house becomes intolerable, Rock considers revolutionIt's two a.m., it's snowing, and the Kindle boys are working on the roof. This is just another in a long string of interrupted nights—early morning wake-up calls that their father uses to teach endurance, discipline, and a respect for authority. He is a tough man, unforgiving and quick to anger, and the boys express their fear of him in different ways. Cliff is rebellious, while Rock escapes into ...

One day in a house at the end of Lucifer Street, on the Mississippi River side of Cairo, Illinois, eleven-year-old Oscar Ogilvies life is changed forever. The Crash of 1929 has rippled across the country, and Oscars dad must sell their homewith all their cherished model trainsand head west in search of work. Forced to move in with his humorless aunt, Carmen and his teasing cousin, Willa Sue, Oscar is lonely and miserableuntil he meets a mysterious drifter and witnesses a crime so stunning ...

The most popular dude in school?It has to be Bernie Bridges. Just ask him!Bernie wants to win the Most Popular Rotten Student of the Year title. But first he has to prove he's the most popular dude on campus. How? Easy. He'll get Jennifer Ecch, the yearbook photographer, to follow him around. All she has to do is snap pictures of him being popular.When that doesn't work, Bernie decides to throw himself the biggest birthday party ever.But, look out, Bernie . ...

The story of a young woman’s life, one outfit at a time.Tucked inside the fibers and buttons and pockets of the clothing in our closets are the stories of our lives, the lessons we’ve learned, the people we’ve loved. Like so many of us, Adena Halpern has used clothes to conform, to seduce, to console, to show off, and to hide. Her ability to relate fashion to her inner life--in a way that goes beyond the clothes--has endeared her to many readers, one of whom called...

Trying to land a spot on the South Side Middle School football team isn't the biggest challenge Matt Hill faces in the third installment of this popular series. Besides catching passes and dodging defenders, Matt also has to deal with the return of his estranged father following a ten-year absence. But while Matt comes to grips with forgiving his father and gets used to having him around, he must also help a teammate deal with the damage inflicted by his own overbearing and sometimes viole...

Sheila, Rusty and Katie are on the road again. Fresh from their adventures in Barkerville, the trio is now in southern Alberta. Sheila has been anxiously anticipating her reunion with her father and is worried about how they will get along. Her fears are confirmed when they arrive at the Triple W Ranch and he is not there to greet them. When the police arrive, Sheila finds that her father is in big trouble. Developers want to take over his land to build new housing and a golf course and wh...