Twelve-year-old Stan and Elpidia find hope in an unexpected friendship as they navigate challenging family circumstances and a dangerous local gang in the desolate Southern California desert.

Thirteen-year-old brilliant but socially-challenged Stewart and mean-girl Ashley must find common ground when, two years after Stewart's mother died, his father moves in with his new girlfriend--Ashley's mother, whose gay ex-husband lives in their guest house.

"Thanks to her sneak-thieving skills, Hush Cantrell can fend for herself. Which is a good thing, since her mom's the last person to look out for her. Hush's life isn't all roses, but when her new friend Desiree enters the picture, things start looking up. That is, until Hush's luck runs out and she's finally caught. Now Hush has to turn over a new leaf: her only alternative to the dreaded 'juvvie' is a job at Miz Tromp's Nursery, [where she soon]...

"From the moment she first learned to read, literary genius Darcy Wells has spent most of her time living in the worlds of her books. When a new property manager becomes more active in the upkeep of their apartment complex, the only home Darcy has ever known outside of her books suddenly hangs in the balance. While Darcy is struggling to survive beneath the weight of her mother's compulsive shopping, Asher Fleet, a former teen pilot with an unexpectedly...