"My walls were stripped, and all that was left in the room was a pile of boxes and my mattress propped against the wall." So begins Irene's journey from an Upper West Side penthouse to—well, she's not entirely sure where. Irene's father, a corporate VP, is "downsized" when his company merges with another. When he can't find work, her family's lifestyle—and her mother's spending—quickly catches up with them. Eventually, they're forced to move...

When her dog Lulu dies, a girl grieves but then continues with her life.

Do bed bugs wear pajamas? Do dragonflies breathe fire? Do stink bugs take baths? Silly questions, the kind kids often ask, are followed by informative answers sure to make every reader eager to learn more about insects. Find out in Do Doodlebugs Doodle?, which will have kids laughing out loud as they explore the fun and fascinating world of insects!.

Even after attending obedience school, Emma's dog Toby misbehaves until she takes him back to become a "specially trained dog."

When her mother remarries again, high schooler Clare has no choice but to spend time with her biological father, Richard, at his home on Cape Cod, where she begins to understand him and learn that she may have been wrong about a lot of things.