September 11, 2001, changed the United States forever. Terrorism became a much larger and more realistic fear, and many people began to look to the government for reassurance and protection. From this tragedy came the Department of... Read More

Star is a confused twelve-year-old girl. Her parents recently split up and she spends a great deal of time moving between her mother’s house and her grandparents’ farm. She loves the farm and she is very close to her grandfather,... Read More

Cheryl Jolly suffered emotional and sexual abuse at her father’s hands from the time she was five years old. He was a violent alcoholic who abused not only his family but other children in the community as well. In Daddy’s Demands,... Read More

“My childhood was different from most.” Those are the first words in Berkley to Beijing, the coming-of-age story of Karen Boutilier Kendall, and, as we learn, they are very true words. Born in 1960 in Berkley, California, Karen was... Read More

At just four years of age, Katie, who has already faced the horrors of sexual and physical abuse, is witness to her mother’s murder at her father’s hands. Her uncle and aunt, Mathew and Carolyn O’Gorman, decide to take on the... Read More

When Jem Lockwood is faced with writing a composition about how he spent his summer vacation, he tells his teacher he could write a book. Much to his surprise, she agrees with him, and so for one whole semester he writes about the... Read More