Jess finds a secret diary and imagines what it would be like to be a girl who has everything. Will she become so wrapped up in someone else’s life that she misses a chance to create her own? Jess cleans houses to save money for college, because her dad, unemployed and off the wagon yet again and has moved the two of them out of the city into a decrepit borrowed tent and trailer. Jess wavers between anger at her father and fear that poverty and addiction may be her fate, too, and she decides she will do whatever it takes to avoid it. She gets a gig cleaning a gorgeous country home and discovers the trashed bedroom of the teenaged daughter, Quinn. Jess wonders how a girl with a perfect life, private school, horseback riding and could have wrecked such a beautiful room. As she cleans, she finds troubling clues, including, tucked behind the bed, a diary.
Gradually Jess learns that Quinn’s life is not what it’s supposed to be. Jess begins to imagine becoming friends with Quinn, and when she begins to write down a new story for Quinn, she risks turning her back on the opportunities that are right in front of her new friends, new interests, a fresh beginning.

At la Playita del Condado in Puerto Rico, Meli meets a crab, Jaiba, who takes her on a dreamlike underwater adventure, teaches her about the importance of shark conservation, and reveals Meli’s ultimate destiny to become the Mother of Sharks.

Maggie Lou’s grandpa doesn’t call her Firefox for nothing. She’s always finding ways to make life more interesting even if this means getting into big trouble. When her grandfather Moshôm finally agrees to teach her how to box, she decides that the rank odors, endless drills and teasing won’t stop her from wearing a tutu to the gym. Joining her father’s construction crew uncovers a surprising talent — besides learning how to use a broom and a great source of scrap wood to build a canine hotel for her dogs. And when she turns thirteen, she figures out an ingenious way to make some smokin’ good camouflage to wear on her first deer hunt, where she joins a long family tradition. Through it all she is surrounded by her big extended gumbo soup of a family, pestered by annoying younger siblings, and gently guided by her strong female relatives her mother, her kohkom and her ultra-cool cousin Jayda. “Keep taking up space,” Maggie’s mother says. “You’re only making room for the girls behind you.” A heroine for today, Maggie Lou discovers that with hard work and perseverance she can gain valuable new skills, without losing one iota of her irrepressible spirit.

Opin, his brother Emjay, and their mother live in a car and are trying to get to Los Angeles where they hope an uncle and a new life are waiting, but even after finding a stray dog, Opin’s longing for a stable home intensifies as his brother’s reckless ways hit a new high.

A group of kids help Bábo (Grandma) wash all their Armenian rugs on rug-washing day.

Malaika learns about her father, who came to Canada as a migrant farm worker when she was just a baby and who shared her love of carnival. Malaika dreams about a man with a basket of fruit and guesses that the dream is about her father. Mummy explains that her daddy passed away long ago, and Grandma decides it’s time Malaika knew more about her father’s life. The family drives to a far off farm where they receive a warm welcome and visit the orchard where Malaika’s father picked fruit. The farm workers tell Malaika that her daddy had always dreamed of celebrating carnival there, just like back home. Will Malaika agree to be their Carnival Queen for the harvest festival?

Skeletina’s day starts just like any other in the mixed up, upside down, inbetween world she calls home. That is, until she hears a strange sound coming from right inside her house. There’s a little girl crying behind the walls, and her teeth keep falling out! But Skeletina knows who can sniff out the truth. Join fun loving and fearless Skeletina on another in between adventure as she helps a frightened little girl conquer her fears and turn a scary dream into something much more fun!

Nine beautifully evocative short stories from the pen of Governor General’s Award finalist Michelle Kadarusman On islands around the world from Manhattan to Phillip Island, Australia, to Komodo Island and beyond nine children face life changing moments: escaping a flood; embracing their identity; discovering that the adults in their lives can ease the burden of their eco anxiety. And although each child couldn’t be more different, one thing connects them all: a turtle swam into each of their lives at a critical moment, and left them changed.

Samantha is a Navajo girl attending Atsá Mesa Community School on the Navajo Reservation. Her life has seemed pretty average when one day at school her body suddenly changes. As a ́Diné, Samantha must now prepare for the Diné womanhood ceremony called the Kinaaldá, a ceremony once performed by the Navajo deity, Changing Woman. With her life now filled with more drama than ever before, she’s reluctant to participate in the demanding four-day ceremony. With a whirlwind of new adventures and pep talks from those closest to her, Sam’s family and her two best friends do their best to help Sam deal with bullies, boys, and her new responsibilities as a Diné woman.

It’s late at night, and Jojo knows two things: First, he has to pee, urgently. Second, an ogre lives in the hallway, and he’ll have to see him on the way to pee. Not an easy situation to solve. Sword in hand, Jojo creeps along the walls of the dark hallway. Finally he reaches the door, where he discovers that the ogre is inside and on the potty! Jojo tells the ogre to scram, but the sad and sweet faced ogre is too upset! He has a stomach ache and yes, he’s also afraid of the dark! The mayhem escalates from there as more creatures appear, piling into the bathroom to hide from their many nighttime fears. Clever and funny with stellar art by Pascal Lemaître, this is a story that will delight children who love monsters and spooky stories as it defangs their fears of the dark.