After a tragic death at Fairview Public Library, frequent patron Mallory and community service volunteer Spencer discover they are not as alone, or as safe, as they thought.

At the Hotel Balzaar, Marta's mother rises before the sun, puts on her uniform, and instructs Marta to roam as she will but quietly, invisibly like a little mouse. While her mother cleans rooms, Marta slips down the back staircase to the grand lobby to chat with the bellman, study the painting of an angel's wing over the fireplace, and watch a cat chase a mouse around the face of the grandfather clock, all the while dreaming of the return of her soldier...

After the death of her beloved grandfather, nineteen-year-old Maya Vidal, turning to drugs, alcohol, and petty crimes, becomes trapped in a war between assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol, until her grandmother helps her escape to a remote island off the coast of Chile where she tries to make sense of her life.

In Makersville, Indiana, people know all about fifteen-year-old Ronney-- he's from that mixed-race family with the dad who tried to kill himself, the pill-popping mom, and the genius kid sister. Can Ronney figure out a way to hold it together as all his worlds fall apart?

Since Ellery's younger sister died, her family has been in shambles. On the day that she tries to end it all even the gun won't work. When she tries to return it, a security guard also happens to be a boy in one of her classes. Colter Sawyer recognizes Ellery's desperation and begins working hard to earn her trust. He has very good reasons for his vigilance-- and whether Ellery likes it or not, he won't let go.

"In the book of Genesis, when God calls out, "Abraham!" to order him to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham responds, "Here I am." Later, when Isaac calls out, "My father!" to ask him why there is no animal to slaughter, Abraham responds, "Here I am." How do we fulfill our conflicting duties as father, husband, and son; wife and mother; child and adult? Jew and American? How can we claim our own identities when our lives are linked so closely to others'?...

In the mid-1970s Sunny Lewin is back, star of her personal show, facing the prospect of Middle School, and dealing with the problems of her somewhat dysfunctional family--in particular her older brother, Dale, who has been sent off to a military academy because of his delinquent behavior.

Portico Reeves' secret identity as Stuntboy allows him to use his superpower keep everybody safe, but when his superhero parents start fighting a lot he feels the responsibility to save them.

After their father dies unexpectedly in prison, twins Alex and Olly's relationship becomes fractured as they cope with their loss very differently. To make matters worse, Olly is hiding the truth that Tyler, who recently arrived at their lakeside town for the summer, is actually their half-brother.

Feeling like she does not fit in with the other members of her family, who are all thin, brilliant, and good-looking, fifteen-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self-image, her first physical relationship, and her disillusionment with some of the people closest to her.