emotional depth
— A star basketball player tears her knee in the championship game, faces losing her scholarship dreams, then finds purpose coaching young players while beginning her recovery.
— An elf boy searches for rare ashberries to save a dragonfire victim, remembering how the same berries failed to save his father years before.
— A girl struggles with her rebellious golden retriever until he falls through ice into a river, and she jumps in to save him, realizing she loves him as he is.
— Two childhood friends are separated when their families move to different states, then reunite by chance years later at college in Chicago.
— A girl recounts the life and death of her beloved white cat Moon, from finding her as a kitten at a yard sale to her tragic death under a car's...
— A thirteen-year-old bassoonist battles nerves and nausea before performing at Carnegie Hall, then discovers transcendence when she forgets her music and must play from memory.
— A girl escapes her unwanted birthday party to the woods where she encounters a wolf, recognizing their shared solitude before exchanging wordless farewells.
— A girl alone in a gray house during her parents' divorce remembers losing her only friend years ago, then discovers singing as an outlet for her pain.
— A Chinese-American girl struggles with her identity after moving from San Francisco to Boston, finding strength in her grandfather's wisdom about heritage and belonging.
— A girl runs thirteen miles home from the hospital where her mother is dying, haunted by the unspoken response to her mother's final 'I love you.'