trust

Story·Aoife O'Connell, age 11 — A homeless orphan girl in Paris meets a mysterious old woman who turns out to be a pirate captain, and after stealing her ring, is invited to join the crew.

Story·Oliver Giller, age 10 — A boy who counts his 2,476 hairs discovers one is missing and hires a suspicious detective who charges $100 to solve the case.

Story·Benjamin Mitchell, age 13 — In a post-apocalyptic Nevada compound, Oswald attends a mandatory festival where the High Chancellor reveals the entire climate disaster was an elaborate government hoax to test survival protocols.

Story·Justin Le Veness, age 11 — An eight-year-old boy faces his fear when his father dares him to go outside during Hurricane Matthew, discovering both the storm's power and his father's protective nature.

Story·Meg Simpson, age 10 — A twelve-year-old faces peer pressure when her best friend Lauren shoplifts and tries to involve her, leading to difficult choices about friendship and integrity.

Story·Tara Stroll, age 13 — A teenage trapper and his dog get lost in a Canadian blizzard, facing freezing water, injuries, and near-death before finding their way to safety.

Story·Hana Bieliauskas, age 13 — A girl befriends her new neighbor Jessica, who gradually reveals manipulative behavior, steals a family heirloom, and drives a wedge between the narrator and her best friend.

Story·Neva Pederson, age 13 — A girl picks a fight with her sister over blanket distribution, ignores her conscience, loses the argument she started, and learns to listen to that small inner voice.

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·Zhang He, age 12 — A girl falsely accuses her best friend of stealing her birthday watch, destroys their friendship, then discovers the watch under her bed months later.