Thirteen-year-old Maleeka, uncomfortable because her skin is extremely dark, meets a new teacher with a birthmark on her face and makes some discoveries about how to love who she is and what she looks like.

In the three years since her father caught her in the back seat of a car with an older boy, sixteen-year-old Deanna's life at home and school has been a nightmare, but while dreaming of escaping with her brother and his family, she discovers the power offorgiveness.

This is a gorgeous, lyrical ode to loving who you are, respecting others, and being kind to one another.

When she is almost sixteen years old, Rosemary decides she is sick of being overweight, mocked at school and at Heavenly Hair--her mother's beauty salon--and feeling out of control, and as she slowly loses weight, she realizes that she is able to cope with her mother's cancer, having a boyfriend for the first time, and discovering that other people's lives are not as perfect as they seem from the outside.

"Delilah always keeps her messy, gooey insides hidden behind a wall of shrugs and yeah, whatevers. She goes with the flow--which is how she ends up singing in her friends' punk band as a favor, even though she'd prefer to hide at the merch table. Reggie is a D&D Dungeon Master and self-declared Blerd. He spends his free time leading quests and writing essays critiquing the game under a pseudonym, keeping it all under wraps from his disapproving family....

Annemarie "Shug" Wilcox, facing junior high school, disgruntled with her appearance, and confused by changing relationships, decides there is nothing worse than being twelve-years-old.

Overview: Amber has a lot on her mind. Her mom is engaged. Her father is moving back to the United States. Her parents fight every time they talk on the phone--and Amber is caught in the middle. It's enough to make Amber Brown see red! (Digest) The year that she is in the fourth grade is a difficult one for Amber, as she tries to deal with escalating telephone fights between her divorced parents and her father's impending return to take joint custody...

A young girl learns to like herself every single day, no matter what.