being different

Story·Daniel Lyons, age 12 — At summer camp, a boy befriends Caylan, a special needs camper, and defies the drama director by bringing him onstage to perform in the camp musical together.

Story·Hana Bieliauskas — A white girl in art class gradually befriends Tammy, a Black student who faces racist bullying, culminating when she witnesses an attack and offers help.

Story·Rebecca Orchard, age 12 — On planet Matia 3, where girls are expected to raise families, Retsina attempts her fourth and final chance to become a Space Cadet, competing against boys in a grueling test.

Story·Felicity Slater, age 12 — A bored city girl visiting suburban relatives discovers every house has a blonde girl shooting baskets, then becomes trapped in the conformist nightmare herself.

Story·Alexandra Orczyk, age 12 — A girl loses her childhood best friend when their families take opposite sides during the American Revolution's Stamp Act crisis, their final parting at a harbor as he sails away.

Story·Sophia Emmert, age 13 — A deaf girl discovers she can feel music through vibrations when her teacher shows her how to play piano barefoot, finding her voice through the instrument.

Poetry·Zoe Savishinsky, age 12 — A poem confronts a classmate who casually weaponized the speaker's adoption status, exploring how thoughtless words can shatter trust and leave lasting wounds.

Story·Abigail Kelly, age 9 — A new fourth-grader navigates between popular girls who mock imaginative play and Phyllis, who plays animal games like her old best friend used to.

Story·Miranda Neubauer, age 13 — 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.

Poetry·Mark Roberts, age 10 — A boy recounts the aftermath of a crash he can't remember, describing the physical trauma and how others see him differently while he remains the same inside.