identity

Story·Simon Reis, age 11 — A boy encounters a mysterious neighbor who claims to be Beethoven reincarnated, offering musical genius in exchange for sharing his deafness and suffering.

Story·Annie Strother, age 13 — A thirteen-year-old reflects on her nomadic life in her parents' van, arriving in their thirty-second town while longing for the stability of a real home.

Story·Leah Karker, age 12 — A girl raised on a farm discovers she's a wolf when she finds her birth mother among a wolf pack and transforms to join them.

Story·Laurel Lathrop, age 13 — A girl on the social outskirts is chosen as the healer's apprentice, severing ties with family and friends to begin her new life in the forest.

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.

Poetry·Laberije Shala, age 13 — A young refugee from Kosovo mourns her father's death, expressing the emptiness of life without him and her identity as an orphan who brings roses to his grave.

Story·Simon Reis, age 12 — A young racehorse named Judy Garland faces her fears on a muddy track, gets injured in fog, but places second through determination and discovers meaning beyond victory.

Story·Rachel Johnson, age 13 — A Cuban-American boy finds solace and identity through a secret friendship with a bull after his grandmother's death, defying his assimilated family.

Story·Anna Hagen, age 11 — A girl who was found on a beach as a baby discovers through a magical conch shell that she was rescued by whales after her parents' ship capsized.

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.