strong opening
— A girl picks a fight with her sister over blanket distribution, ignores her conscience, loses the argument she started, and learns to listen to that small inner voice.
— A reluctant soccer player is forced to play halfback instead of her usual defense position and scores the game-winning goal, discovering she belongs there.
— During a blizzard in 1861, fourteen-year-old Abby takes over for an injured Pony Express rider to deliver President Lincoln's inaugural speech two miles through the storm.
— A German girl bullied for her old-fashioned name finds her first friend in an American newcomer, then must overcome her fear to save her from Neo-Nazi attackers.
— In 1665 Madrid, thirteen-year-old Maria defies her father's arranged marriage plans and elopes with Edward, an English ambassador's son, to pursue her dream of writing novels.
— A girl swimmer fights back when a new coach declares girls aren't good enough for competitive swimming, leading her teammates to crash the boys' tryouts and prove him wrong.
— A daughter and father bond over an Avalanche-Blues playoff game in enemy territory, their first real connection after twelve years of distance.
— An aspiring ballerina practices relentlessly for a Nutcracker audition but isn't chosen, only to be called in as an understudy when another dancer falls ill.
— In 1850, a sixteen-year-old girl who dreams of more than housework meets a stranger who takes her poetry to a printing press, changing her life forever.
— After her brother is executed for harming a sacred cat, a young Egyptian princess must decide whether to rule, marry, or abandon the throne when her father dies.