identity
— A girl recalls being praised as 'a little angel' throughout childhood, while her mother's poetry quotation hints at the impermanence of such perfection.
— A meditation on cultural superstitions connects Greek pomegranate-smashing with Chinese number symbolism, finding meaning in how misfortune creates possibility for renewal.
— Three children discover they've been trapped in a virtual reality 'perfect world' experiment since infancy and must escape with help from a psychologist's daughter.
— A child crosses rivers, lakes, and mountains to reach school, only to be invisible in the classroom—unseen, unheard, like a ghost.
— A freelance journalist travels to Syria to report on the civil war, interviewing refugees in a camp and finding wisdom in an elderly woman's perspective on conflict.
— A girl's morning bike ride to school becomes a meditation on class differences and gratitude, finding beauty in her modest neighborhood despite glimpses of wealth.
— A whimsical origin story explains how the floating, two-eyed giiants of Chocolate Lemon island became the one-eyed cyclopes we know today.
— A girl with synesthesia who tastes words and memorizes dictionaries finds connection through a spelling bee competition, transforming from isolated to confident.
— During morning hair-braiding, Carlita reflects on her Cuban heritage, school discrimination, and her absent brother who's been arrested.
— After moving to Brooklyn, Kiera finally achieves popularity but must choose between her new friends and Claudia, who wears the same Hello Kitty shirt Kiera once loved.