UK KS3

Story·Namrata Ramya Balasingam, age 13 — A Sri Lankan tea plucker works through pain and betrayal to earn enough money to buy her orphaned brother a birthday cake, discovering true friendship along the way.

Story·Lydia Solodiuk, age 13 — A deaf girl who resents her church organist for being able to hear discovers an unexpected friendship when asked to turn pages during a memorial service performance.

Story·Naima Okami, age 12 — A girl tries to save her family's ancient oak tree by climbing into its branches, but fails; later finds solace when a cat makes a home in the fallen logs.

Poetry·Jonah O'Hara David, age 10 — A prose poem explores the color black through a series of sensory images, from crows to horses, culminating in a meditation on loss and racial identity.

Story·Maya Martin, age 12 — A girl reluctantly visits her Japanese American great-grandmother and learns about her imprisonment in internment camps during World War II, discovering untold history.

Story·Meilan Steimle, age 12 — A girl with overly intellectual parents seeks sisterhood on a school trip to Yosemite, but finds bickering cabinmates, indifferent leaders, and a bed-wetting incident instead.

Story·Rachel Keirstead, age 13 — After losing her arm in a car accident, Kate struggles with depression until a voice teacher helps her discover singing as a new way to make music.

Story·Billy Liptrot, age 13 — A boy finds solace at a secluded spot by a reservoir, where memories of catching frogs with his brother merge with present sensory details of water, weather, and wildlife.

Story·Arden Bastia, age 13 — A girl named Adrin strikes a dangerous bargain with Beta, a wolf who killed her father, agreeing to retrieve a magical owl diadem within eight days or forfeit her life.

Story·Marie-Rose Sheinerman, age 12 — An eleven-year-old returns from Russia to New York and is detained at customs, intensifying her desperate longing to reunite with her parents and her city.