Years of bad weather and natural disasters have choked Italy's food supply, and the people of Florence are dying of starvation. Breadlines are battlegrounds, and young Maria has to fight for her family's every loaf. Adding to the misery, the Black Plague is rapidly spreading through the country, killing everyone in its path. Maria has already lost her mother and sister. Will she be strong enough to save the rest of her family before it's too late?

In 1935, dust storms are sweeping across the southern plains of United States, including Oklahoma. Twelve-year-old Millie Horn is worried about her family's survival. The Dust Bowl is getting worse, and her family is running out of food and money. Despite the hardships, Pa doesn't want to abandon the farm, which has been in the family for generations. But when the worst "black blizzard" yet hits, they have no choice. The family decides to make the journey west, but life in California isn't...

Raquel and her cousin Zoe have always been close—best friends even. But a crush has a way of changing everything. When Raquel and Aiden, a new boy at school, are paired up during drama club, Raquel is thrilled. She and Aiden hit it off, and she can’t wait to tell her friends about it. But Zoe’s reaction is less than supportive—soon she accuses her cousin of ignoring her friends for a boy. Raquel can't help but wonder if her cousin is just jealous or if she has a point. And more importantly...

Selected for the Best Books for Kids & Teens 2015Selected for The Sunburst AwardFor seventeen-year-old Maggie Johnson, transitioning the dead isn't hard. What's tough is surviving the insults and pranks of Serge Popov, high school thug and the dumbest jock to ever set foot in Dead Falls, Alberta. When she finds him dead and later discovers his spirit trapped in her room, she figures it's a case of divine justice. Let the jerk rot for eterni...

A Guyanese girl must find the balance between her parents' "old world" expectations and traditions while pursuing her dream of being a great trumpeter in this contemporary, coming-of-age story.Nira Ghani has always dreamed of becoming a musician. Her Guyanese parents, however, have big plans for her to become a scientist or doctor. Nira's grandmother and her best friend, Emily, are the only people who seem to truly understand her desire to establish an identity out...

When Mom relocates the family for her job, Bailey finds herself at a new school with no friends. And with her older brother off at college, she is all alone, even at home. So when a group of girls at school invite Bailey to hang out, she jumps at the chance. And when they suggest she try their makeup, Bailey can’t say no—even though wearing makeup is strictly against Mom’s rules. But can Bailey keep her new habit a secret, or will her makeup cover-up blow up in her face?

Short-listed for the Alberta Readers' Choice AwardsA month after solving her first murder (and almost getting killed in the process), Maggie Johnson and her soul brother Serge Popov are hoping for some peace and quiet to figure out...well, everything. But the dead wait for no one. Especially a dead guy like Kent Thomas. He was every parent's dream, the kind of good kid who excelled at school, and never caused trouble. And he was the kind of guy all the guys liked. ...

Selected for the Best Books For Kids & TeensMaggie Johnson is dealing with too much — the rising distrust and hate of the townspeople, her growing (and unpredictable) supernatural powers, and the dead, waiting to be transitioned from this side to the next. Right now, they're her saving grace. But when a soul-eater steals the ghost she's transitioning, things don't just take a turn for the worse, they take a turn for the personal. This thing has a connection to her ...

Two years ago, Josie Smith’s life went up in smoke.Literally. Everyone and everything she ever loved burned in a fire—one set by a crooked cop. To survive, Josie’s been living under the radar as a homeless kid while trying to find a way to knock the cop down a few notches and put her on the other side of the prison bars. But time’s running out. A pimp’s got his eye on Josie, and if she doesn’t get off the streets soon, she’ll be the one brought down. Her salvation ...

Rookie detectives Lark and Connor Ba are back on the case!When a pair of diamond earrings goes missing from the neighborhood general store, Lark and Connor just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Carefully mining the adults for clues, the twin sleuths work together to solve the mystery.Lark and the Diamond Caper is the second title in the Lark Ba Detective series. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

A strange woman seems to have eerie control over people. Is it science . . . or strange and ghostly? Find out in this new spooky chapter book series, Spooky Sleuths.Asim's field trip is freaking him out! His class is on a boat, exploring the Salish Sea, when he sees a pale, scowling woman staring at him from under the water. Asim's friend Rokshar thinks it's just a seal. She always finds a scientific explanation for the strange things that happen in town.

Jade’s pet dinosaur, Indigo, loves to play hide-and-seek, but when some of the neighborhood pets go missing, Jade worries that Indigo might be responsible! Then Jade discovers that Indigo DID have something to do with their disappearance—just not in the way that she thought! Follow Jade and Indigo’s adventures in this delightful chapter book series about friendship and loyalty.