A brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy, considered by many to be mentally retarded, discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.

When a burning cross set by the Klan causes panic and fear in 1932 Bumblebee, North Carolina, fifth-grader Stella must face prejudice and find the strength to demand change in her segregated town.

Piano-prodigy Isabella, eleven, whose black father and white mother struggle to share custody, never feels whole, especially as racial tensions affect her school, her parents both become engaged, and she and her stepbrother are stopped by police.

The death of high school basketball star Rob Washington in an automobile accident affects the lives of his close friend Andy, who was driving the car, and many others in the school.

A teenaged boy's death in a hazing accident has lasting effects on his pregnant girlfriend and his guilt-ridden cousin, who gives up a promising music career to play football during his senior year in high school.

"Needed now more than ever: a guide that includes 500 diverse contemporary fiction and memoir recommendations for preteens and teens with the goal of inspiring greater empathy for themselves, their peers, and the world around them. As young people are diagnosed with anxiety and depression in increasing numbers, or dealing with other issues that can isolate them from family and friends-such as bullying, learning disabilities, racism, or homophobia-characters...

As rehearsals begin for the ballet version of Peter Pan, the teenaged members of an Ohio dance troupe lose their focus when one of their own goes missing.

After the neighborhood basketball court is vandalized, Ziggy and his friends decide to form a club called the Black Dinosaurs.

Ziggy and the other members of the Black Dinosaurs go to space camp where they learn about the space program and speculate about the existence of extraterrestrial beings.

After the neighborhood basketball court is vandalized, Ziggy and his friends decide to form a club called the Black Dinosaurs and build their clubhouse in Ziggy's backyard.