Laurie Halse Anderson

"'Speak up for yourself--we want to know what you have to say.' From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her...

Eighteen-year-old Lia comes to terms with her best friend's death from anorexia as she struggles with the same disorder.

After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.

Eighteen-year-old Ash wants nothing to do with senior prom, but when disaster strikes and her desperate friend, Nat, needs her help to get it back on track, Ash's involvement transforms her life.

Seeing Jane's dog, Yum-Yum, help cheer up children in a cancer ward makes Zoe think about having her puppy, Sneakers, trained to do therapy, too, especially when Yum-Yum becomes very ill.

Brenna, one of the volunteers at the Dr. Mac's Place animal clinic, is horrified to find a dog caught in a trap in the local nature preserve, but subsequent events prove that every story has two sides.

"Hayley Kincaid and her father move back to their hometown to try a "normal" life, but the horrors he saw in the war threaten to destroy their lives"--

Sunita and her fellow volunteers at the Wild at Heart veterinary clinic become involved in efforts to save a bunch of feral and abandoned cats with the help of Dr. Mac.

Brenna, Maggie, and Zoe go to Florida to visit a manatee rescue center, where they learn about these endangered marine mammals.

Twelve-year-old David has conflicting feelings when his father, who taught him to ride the horses he loves so much, returns to spend Thanksgiving Day with the family after being gone for a year.