Stella and her inquisitive little brother Sam spend a day at the seashore, but it takes patience for Stella to answer her brother's many questions about their surroundings before he can join in the fun.

Do you or your partner spend more than you earn? Have your credit card debts evolved into collection letters? Has either of you received a court summons? Has either of you considered turning to a life of a crime? You are not alone. We know. We can help. Welcome to the Transition. While taking part in the Transition, you and your partner will spend six months living under the supervision of your mentors, two successful adults of a slightly older generation....

Jasper quit his school football team after blowing a big play, which is giving him a lot of time to get into trouble with his friends; but when he is allowed to rejoin the team rather than face detention he finds that everybody is mad at him: his teammates because he quit, and his friends because he is avoiding punishment.

Actually having a horse and taking care of it, instead of just dreaming about it, turns out to be more than Sarah bargained for.

Third-grader EllRay is becoming famous for messing up, and when his little sister accidentally kills EllRay's class goldfish, and then he forgets his teacher's read-aloud book at home, it only makes matters worse.

Greta the goblin princess is bored, but when unicorns Bo and Sunny try to cheer her up by using their powers to make her queen (for a day), they discover just how much trouble a bored--and spoiled--goblin princess can cause for everyone around her.

"A literature professor tries to rediscover who she is after the sudden death of her husband, even as a series of family and political jolts force her to ask what we owe those in crisis in our families, biological or otherwise"-- Antonia Vega has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening...

A high school boy and his friends decide to form a club of "second bests" and play anonymous tricks on each other's arch rivals. When the harmless pranks become life-threatening, however, no one in the club will admit responsibility.

These ten short stories explore loss and sacrifice in American suburbia. In idyllic suburbs across the country, from Philadelphia to San Francisco, narrators struggle to find meaning or value in their lives because of (or in spite of) something that has happened in their pasts. In "Hole," a young man reconstructs the memory of his childhood friend's deadly fall. In "The Theory of Light and Matter," a woman second-guesses her choice between a soul...

Natalie navigates responsibility and jealousy when she overcommits the Mini Cupcake Club leaving her twin sister Stephanie to save the day.