identity
— In ancient Rome, a rebellious girl secretly learns to read from a neighbor boy who must move away, leaving her with letters that sustain their friendship and her forbidden education.
— A prose poem traces the precise moment when ocean and sky merge at twilight, finding that exact blue-black in the speaker's own eyes.
— A girl torn between joining the spring musical with friends or trying track discovers new friendship when she chooses the unfamiliar path.
— A middle school boy who loves dance faces relentless bullying until he decides to perform in the school talent show to show his classmates what dance truly means to him.
— A California girl moves to snowy Minnesota after her parents' divorce, chases a coatless winter cyclist, and discovers an unexpected friendship with someone who feels just as out of place.
— A twelve-year-old actress faces her final audition before a year-long ban on performing, negotiated with her doctor parents who want her to pursue medicine instead.
— A girl overcomes her fear to confront bullies who are racially harassing her Filipino friend, discovering the power of standing up for what's right.
— Eight-year-old Yuki experiences the upheaval of Japanese-American internment, losing herself in despair until a letter from her librarian and an unexpected kindness help her find hope again.
— An adopted Korean girl visits her birth village on Easter, confronting the life she might have lived before choosing the family who raised her.
— Two girls repeatedly almost meet through various near-misses, until the narrator reveals their friendship would have diminished them both, making timing's failures a blessing.