belonging
— A young poet maps her beloved seaside town through sensory details — from a whale door knocker to turquoise wharfs to sailboats floating like butterflies.
— At summer camp, a girl lies about her grandmother's earrings to avoid teasing, loses them, and discovers her new friend stole them out of misguided kindness.
— An adopted Korean girl visits her birth village on Easter, confronting the life she might have lived before choosing the family who raised her.
— A basketball-obsessed eighth grader befriends Arthur, a boy with a disability who's never played basketball, teaching him the game and advocating for him to join the team.
— A girl finally gets her turn to be Lucia in her Swedish family's St. Lucia Day celebration, but forgets the words to the traditional song at the crucial moment.
— A Japanese boy moves to America in 1956 and faces bullying until a friend named Conrad stands up for him, ultimately getting expelled for defending him in a fight.
— A child searches the airport for their father returning from Iraq, recognizing him finally by his smile and open arms.
— A girl searches desperately for her beloved lesson horse Judah after he's retired without warning, finally finding him at a distant stable.
— A lonely ranch girl discovers a stray silver cat in the barn, secretly feeds it, and eventually adopts it when the cat needs help giving birth to kittens.
— After her parents' death, Sarah moves from her strict aunt's house to live with elderly strangers in the country, finding unexpected warmth and belonging.