loss

Story·Raya Ilieva, age 10 — When her parents announce their divorce, twelve-year-old Kate runs away to the beach but realizes she needs her family—even if it's changing.

Story·Iris Chen, age 10 — A girl plants magical colorful flowers in her gray town that's been mourning a hurricane, transforming it from grief to hope despite the mayor's opposition.

Personal Narrative·Elena Baltz, age 10 — A 10-year-old recounts the day she had to put down Cody, her elderly pet rat, six months after losing his brother Spencer.

Story·Bo-Violet Vig, age 13 — A girl who knows every corner of her beloved childhood home must move across the country, discovering that home is defined by the people you love, not the house itself.

Story·Ella Yamamura, age 12 — A girl struggles for three years to answer her teacher's question about her future dreams, only finding an answer after the teacher's death.

Personal Narrative·Alina Khilchenko, age 11 — A girl's excitement about becoming a big sister turns to grief when her mother miscarries, teaching her about loss and the fragility of hope.

Story·Sydney Burr, age 13 — A girl waits in a sweltering car while her mother fights with broken gas pumps, her stream-of-consciousness revealing the death of her brother Joel and her parents' bitter divorce.

Story·Michaela Frey, age 12 — A foster child who lost her voice after trauma struggles to speak again, remembering the woman who silenced her years ago.

Story·Aiden Chen, age 11 — A tree narrates its life from seed to death, surviving fire, drought, and bears, only to be felled when humans build too close to its trunk.

Poetry·Teddy Lykouretzos, age 13 — A meditation on impermanence that moves from photographs and fireflies to wedding cake and stone statues, arguing that nothing can truly be preserved.