emotional depth

Story·Elizabeth Halcomb, age 12 — A twelve-year-old girl resents her parents' decision to adopt a Romanian orphan until the younger girl offers her dead sister's ring, asking if Kate can take her place.

Story·Rachel Stanley, age 13 — A young diver conquers her fear of the 10-meter platform, discovering the exhilaration of flight in the moment she lets herself fall.

Story·Veronica Engler, age 13 — A dragon awaits knights coming to slay her, remembering her murdered family. When she recognizes her brother's killer, she chooses mercy over revenge before dying.

Story·Christy Joy Frost, age 13 — A girl running her family's B&B feels isolated until an author guest shows her that her world contains many worlds, prompting her to reach out to a stranger.

Story·Natalia M. Thompson, age 13 — A daughter asks permission for honors classes and her mother reveals regrets about marrying early instead of pursuing education, passing both blessing and burden to the next generation.

Story·Karin Denton, age 12 — A girl reluctantly visits her family's new house, escapes the paint fumes to explore the woods behind it, and discovers a hidden meadow that helps her accept the move.

Story·Katherine Roth, age 13 — A girl looking after a neighbor's dog discovers the dog has escaped to find their missing cat, injured but alive in the woods after a snowstorm.

Story·Ben Mast, age 12 — A peasant girl follows a mysterious blue dragon into its burrow and discovers it's actually an evil magician who killed her family and seeks to end her bloodline.

Story·Annakai Hayakawa Geshlider, age 9 — A girl secretly cares for neglected horses in Toronto until one morning they leap the fence and she rides with them toward the sunrise.

Story·Gus Ruchman, age 12 — After a tsunami kills his family, an eleven-year-old Muslim boy survives with a Hindu man who teaches him that faith transcends religious boundaries before dying in his arms.