Bullied by two mean girls in her sixth-grade class, a lonely, plump girl gains self-confidence and makes new friends after a mysterious fox gently bites her.

The magical world of Artimé is gone and the Unwanteds are looking to Alex Stowe for answers, but while his twin brother Aaron continues to build his army in Quill, a very dangerous common enemy is revealed.

Victoria Torres is new to middle school and she decides that being a cheerleader is the key to popularity--but the competition is stiff, especially since it includes the awful, bossy Annelise and even with the support of her best friend, Bea, Victoria needs to work on both her cartwheels and her confidence.

As the Wanteds, Unwanteds, and Necessaries struggle to adjust to changes in their society, Mr. Today begins training fourteen-year-old Alex to replace him as Artime's leader one day while Alex's disgraced twin, Aaron, connives to take over Quill.

Brian Worth Jr. plans on trying out for his middle school's basketball team, but the trouble is he has always relied on his height to give him an advantage and that is no longer enough--but at the local senior center, where he reluctantly volunteers, he discovers a friend in George, a former player, who sets out to teach him some of the skills he is missing.

Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants--not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade...