dysfunctional families

Middle schooler Liberty likes to make her own maps of the stars, in fact she is obsessed with them, especially since her family is falling apart; her parents are getting divorced, her nine-year-old sister will barely leave the house and carries a stuffed tiger at all times, her father is suffering from depression, but will not talk about it, and the brothers down the street, once friends, have turned into bullies--so when a tiny meteorite literally falls in her lap it is like a sign, but a sign of what?.

After her stepfather is arrested for child abuse, thirteen-year-old Karina's home life improves but while the severity of her older sister's injuries and the urging of her younger sister, their uncle, and a friend tempt her to testify against him, her mother and other well-meaning adults persuade her to claim responsibility.

"When seventeen-year-old Magpie Lewis discovers a magical world in her backyard, she uses it and its powers to enact her revenge on all those who have wronged her"--Provided by publisher.

It is 1983 and Vanessa Martin, a thirteen-year-old African American girl in Newark's public housing, dreams of following in the footsteps of the first African American Miss America, Vanessa Williams; but the odds are against her until a new teacher at school organizes a beauty pageant and encourages Vanessa to enter.

"Raised by his grandparents, first in Mississippi then in Wisconsin, ten-year-old Lymon moves to Chicago in 1945 to live with the mother he never knew, while yearning for his father"--Provided by publisher.

Sick of watching his mother be abused by her boyfriend, thirteen-year-old Billy McKenna takes matters into his own hands and runs away from home. Taking refuge in an overgrown graveyard, Billy is helped by an older man who is cleaning up the cemetery. Meanwhile, as the police search for Billy, the neighborhood comes together to support Billy's mother.

"A lost young woman returns to small-town New Hampshire under the strangest of circumstances in this one-of-a-kind novel of life, death, and whatever comes after from the acclaimed author of Rabbit Cake. The Starlings live in Everton, an ordinary enough New Hampshire town. It's notable only for Corbin Park, an enormous hunting park, and for Maple Street Cemetery-home to many former residents of Everton. There's also the town legend that Emma Starling was born with healing hands. But Emma has never found the right use for her healing abilities, and they've been on the fritz ever since her childhood best friend, Crystal, fell prey to addiction and disappeared. No one went looking for her; the police don't spend much time looking for drug addicts"--Provided by publisher.

"It all began with trying to fly. After jumping off the roof of his house in the middle of the night, Daniel Kim wakes up far from Neverland, his reprieve from the real world. Thrust into a mental health hospital and then into a brand-new high school, he struggles to hold onto reality while haunted by both his very-present past and his never-present parents. But when he joins Cranbrook Preparatory's cross-country team, he starts to feel like he's walking on his own two feet once again. He meets Jiwon Yoon, another cross-country runner, who may be the first person to join Daniel in his Neverland daydreams. Or maybe Jiwon is the one who will finally break Daniel free"--Provided by publisher.

"Follows fifty-five days in the life of ten-year-old Rae, who must look after herself and her dog when her mother disappears. For as long as Rae can remember, it's always just been her, Mum, and their dog, Splinter. They don't have a lot, but that's fine, because they like keeping their world small. They have their walks, their cooking routines, and sometimes Mum will disappear for a little while to clear her head, but Rae is okay with this, because Mum always comes back. But one day, Rae wakes up to Splinter's nose in her face, the back door open, and no Mum. For weeks, Rae keeps up the house just like Mum taught her, goes to school, walks Splinter, and minds her own business--all the while pushing down the truth she isn't ready to face. That is, until her grumpy, lonely neighbor Lettie--with her own secrets and sadness--falls one night and needs Rae's help. As the two begin to rely on each other, Rae's anxiety intensifies as she wonders what will happen to her when her mother's absence is finally noticed and her fragile world bursts open"--Provided by publisher.

Alex Blackwood is really good at getting the girl she wants, but coming from a broken home with an alcoholic mother she finds committment difficult, even when she thinks she is in love; impossibly awkward Molly Parker has a crush on the cool Cora Myers, but she does not know how to even start a conversation, much less make a connection; now they are all at college in Pittsburgh Alex decides to "help" Molly get the girl, while proving to her own flame that she is not just totally selfish--but things do not work out as the two have planned.