Having come from Mexico to California ten years ago, fourteen-year-old Francisco is still working in the fields but fighting to improve his life and complete his education.

A senior at East Fresno High School lives on as a ghost after his brutal murder in the restroom of a club where he had gone to dance.

"Mateo, a Mexican-American fourth grader from California, spots two skunks stealing his sister's trike. He launches a crusade to retrieve the trike and soon learns that the skunks are not only thieves--they can talk, too!"--

In a small New Mexico town, fourteen-year-old C.M. helps take care of her great-grandmother, who tells stories of her star-crossed life, making C.M. realize that she is not so different from those who came before her.

"Rafael tries to save his toys from his baby sister, Essie, by building a wall from shoeboxes, toilet paper rolls, and other household objects in this playful exploration of 3-D geometry and spatial reasoning"--

Having come from Mexico to California ten years ago, fourteen-year-old Francisco is still working in the fields but fighting to improve his life and complete his education.

Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

Orphaned thirteen year-old Carlos learns what it truly means to be a teammate when he must help save his new wheelchair basketball team's gym from destruction.

"Natalia De La Cruz Rivera y Santiago, also known as Nat, was swimming neighborhood kids out of their money at the local Inglewood pool when her life changed. The LA Mermaids performed, emerging out of the water with matching sequined swimsuits, and it was then that synchronized swimming stole her heart. The problem? Her activist mom and professor dad think it's a sport with too much emphasis on looks -- on being thin and white. Nat grew up the youngest...

Life at Avocado Acres Trailer Rancho in California is happy for Naomi, her little brother Owen, and their grandmother until their mother reappears after seven years.