family

Story·Risa Askerooth, age 12 — A grueling hike through Hawaiian wilderness nearly ends in defeat before revealing hidden pools, where exhaustion transforms into pure joy.

Poetry·Candace Huntington, age 13 — Three cousins play Monster Tag in overgrown summer fields, transforming into predator and prey as they chase through bushes and around corners.

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·Peter O'Shea, age 12 — A boy who hates animals after being bitten volunteers at a shelter and discovers the same German shepherd who bit him seven years ago, leading to forgiveness and adoption.

Story·Grace Manning, age 12 — During a sailing race with a $100 prize, a boy gives up certain victory to help his friend win the money for his dying father's medical care.

Story·Ella Staats, age 11 — A tomboy daughter discovers her mother's insistence on frilly dresses stems from her own deprived childhood, leading to mutual understanding and acceptance.

Story·Natalie Bettendorf, age 13 — A family's annual August trip to Mission Beach in San Diego brings together two close families for a day of racing to the ocean, splashing, and summer traditions.

Story·Emma Callet, age 12 — A girl's racehorse Royal Blue faces his rival King of the Wind in the Kentucky Derby, with tensions rising when the rival's exercise rider becomes the jockey.

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.