Thirteen-year-old Nina is imprisoned by the Population Police, who give her the option of helping them identify illegal "third-born" children, or facing death.

A frog explains how smiling is a great way to get through life's ups and downs.

Seventh-grader John "Crash" Coogan has always been comfortable with his tough, aggressive behavior, until his relationship with an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make him consider the meaning of friendship and the importance of family.

"After the death of her parents, Lotties loses her colorful magic and is sent to the gray wasteland to live with her uncle, but the discovery of a locked-up garden, a wise cardinal, and a hidden boy gives Lottie a second chance at bringing color back into her life."--

A young girl learns to like herself every single day, no matter what.

Sixteen-year-old Caitlin struggles with her feelings about her best friend's pregnancy, boys who tempt her to break her vow not to date, non-Christian friends, and what God may be calling her to do with her life.

An intelligent but insecure fifteen-year-old aspiring musician, who sports off-beat clothes, spiked hair, and multiple piercings, questions the existence of God until she meets Him head-on in a graveyard.

Now that he is in the fourth grade, Suds learns that a fear of spiders or a babyish lunchbox will never get him into the coveted group, the Fourth Grade Rats. --

Oscar Dunleavy, a teenager who used to make incredible apple tarts, has gone missing and everyone thinks he is dead, but Oscar's best friend Meg and his little brother Stevie, form a band as they try to figure out what happened to him.

When Punchinello tries to prove his worth by getting more boxes and balls than the other Wemmicks, he learns that his maker, Eli, loves him because of who he is and not what he possesses.