Maverick Falconer is just starting middle school and he wishes he were a hero like his father because maybe then he could deal with his mother's drinking and series of abusive boyfriends, not to mention the kids who bully him in middle school (pretty much the same ones who bullied him in elementary school)--but as the year passes he begins to realize that other kids have problems too, and maybe if they can all survive sixth-grade things will get better....

When his younger brother is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old Steven tries to deal with his complicated emotions, his school life, and his desire to support his family.

After being assigned to perform community service at a nursing home, sixteen-year-old Alex befriends a cantankerous old man who has some lessons to impart about jazz guitar playing, love, and forgiveness.

When thirteen-year-old San Lee moves to a new town and school for the umpteenth time, he is looking for a way to stand out. His knowledge of Zen Buddhism provides the answer--and the need to quickly become a convincing Zen master.

"Funny, outrageous things didn't stop for Jordan Sonnenblick after he left fourth grade. No, in many ways the events detailed to hilarious effect in The Boy Who Failed Show and Tell were but a prelude to sixth grade, a time when Jordan would have to deal with a rival named Jiminy (his real name is Jimmy -- but, hey, he looks like a cricket), a stickler English teacher who doesn't care that all the old, worn copies of Great Expectations smell like...