Will Jessica find a friend at school? It’s not easy when you’re shy, so every day she brings her cardboard box filled with something different to share. Until, finally, she discovers that all she truly needs to share is herself. Jessica’s Box will capture the heart of every child, parent, teacher, and friend.
When insane exile Corner and his army of mindless, whispering shadows invade Safe, a secret, underground community of freaks and disabled outcasts, Matthew, traumatized shapeshifter Ariel, and other misfits go to the dangerous place known as Above, where Matthew makes a shocking discovery about the histories entrusted to him.
They are outcasts. Hal, Stig, and the others – they are the boys the others want no part of. Skandians, as any reader of Ranger’s Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. Not these boys. Yet that doesn’t mean they don’t have skills. And courage – which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race. The icy waters make for a treacherous playing field especially when not everyone thinks of it as playing.
Two lonely grade-eight kids in rural Australia develop a friendship as they work together to unlock a mystery. Laura feels like an outcast because of her family’s artist lifestyle, her curly hair and bushy eyebrows, and the decaying mansion she calls home. Leon, newer to the area, is ostracized for living with his grandmother, the rumors about his father being in prison, and his shabby appearance. The friendship between the two progresses slowly because Laura, desperate to fit in, is embarrassed to be seen with Leon. As they work together to uncover the history of Laura’s house and Mr. Visconti-its original owner-and his tragic love story, Laura learns to understand the value of friendship.