identity

Story·Manuel Anderson, age 12 — A boy remembers his fearless best friend Luis Manuel from Catholic school in Caracas—the youngest but undisputed leader of their trio, who ate floor Cheetos and never cried.

Story·Anna Hirtes, age 9 — An orphan girl named Shelly encounters a unicorn in the Magic Forest who saves her from a snake bite, then meets her identical twin Elizabeth.

Story·Hannah Gottlieb-Graham, age 12 — At art camp, a girl joins a secret nickname club where everyone has a summer identity, until the club's leader reveals her own name was never a nickname at all.

Poetry·Caley Scheppegrell, age 13 — A girl escapes her unwanted birthday party to the woods where she encounters a wolf, recognizing their shared solitude before exchanging wordless farewells.

Story·Emmy J. X. Wong, age 11 — A Chinese-American girl struggles with her identity after moving from San Francisco to Boston, finding strength in her grandfather's wisdom about heritage and belonging.

Story·Sabrina Wong, age 10 — A popular middle schooler rejects her childhood friend at lunch, then finds her grandmother's photo and realizes she's betrayed her values for social status.

Story·Sanjana Saxena, age 11 — A girl moves from Chicago to India during monsoon season, experiences two different schools, then relocates to California, carrying memories of both homes.

Story·Zohra Maryam Chaudhry, age 10 — A Muslim girl struggles with shyness and prejudice at her new Brooklyn school until she stands up to bullies and finds an unexpected friend in a Jewish classmate.

Story·Rose Diltz, age 13 — A girl afraid of everything must rescue her best friend when a storm causes a riding accident, discovering courage she didn't know she had.

Story·Lena Greenberg, age 11 — Two sisters who once shared an imaginary world called the Blueberry Family drift apart after moving to Connecticut, until a forgotten lunch brings understanding.