Even though her Dad calls her “Bruiser,” eleven-year-old Joy isn’t as strong as she looks. With Dad gone and Mom depressed, it’s up to Joy to care for the house and her younger brother Ian. Struggling with old clothes in sizes too small now and Ian's constant hunger, Joy fears the school counselor might call Child Protective Services. When a baby bird falls from its nest, Joy recalls her Dad's warning, “You don’t know your own strength.”
Nearly 1 in 5 American adults will have a diagnosable mental health condition in any given year. Ruby Bean, a 12-year-old Accidental Expert on Missing Mothers, embarks on a cross-country journey with her aunt to find her missing mother who suffers from mental illness and addiction. Along the way, Ruby discovers that sometimes the worst events can bring the best surprises into one's life.
Some of his new teammates--including "loud and obnoxious" home-run slugger Jimmie--are mean to him or to each other. His new coach doesn't tell the players everything to do like his old coach did. And some of the Manatees seem more interested in goofing off than in sportsmanship or working hard. Then Luis is surprisingly named captain of his new team, and he finds himself with a whole new set of problems. How will he get this odd-ball group of teammates to work together?
Thirteen-year-old Hannah Higgins is convinced her summer is ruined when she is forced to travel to Africa and work in a remote village in Kenya with her mom and uncle. Never having been to a developing country, she finds the food challenging and the community filthy. She has to live without electricity or running water. Then she is told she must attend school. Just when she thinks nothing could make this trip any worse, she learns people there are dying of hunger and preventable disease. Hannah becomes frustrated and wants to help, but when poverty threatens the lives of people she loves, all she wants to do is go home.
