With Christmas coming, Marty and Shiloh hope the holiday will bring their town the generosity of spirit that's lacking, but a fire in the woods destroys homes and the town blames the man Marty rescued Shiloh from.

"When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs"--Title verso page.

Disgusted that a family with three girls moves into the house across the river, nine-year-old Wally and his three brothers declare a practical joke war on the girls.

Fourth-grader Alice tries unsuccessfully to avoid embarrassing mistakes and to establish better relations with her older brother Lester. Can someone die of embarrassment? Everything seems to go wrong for Alice: whether it's being seen in her underpants by Donald Sheavers from next door or saying dumb things in class. Worst of all, she's managed to get Lester really mad at her. Will life ever get any easier? Fourth grade can't end soon enough for Alice!...

When motherless Alice turns thirteen she feels in-between, no longer a child but not yet a woman, and discovers that growing up can be both frustrating and wonderful.

As Halloween approaches, the three Malloy sisters find themselves continually trying to get even with the four Hatford brothers, who have been playing tricks on them since the Malloys moved from Ohio to West Virginia. Sequel to: "The boys start the war."

Things start looking up for Emily and Jackson when Emily's inheritance clears and Aunt Hilda becomes her legal guardian and offers to become Jackson's, as well, but Uncle Victor reappears, willing to do anything to steal Emily's fortune.

During the summer between eighth and ninth grades, Alice and her friends Pamela and Elizabeth decide to improve themselves through exercise.

Alice's first year in high school gets off to a difficult start when she and her boyfriend Patrick break up, but with the help of her father, older brother, and best friends, she gains a better sense of her own self-worth.

The Malloy girls and the Hatford boys continue to get in trouble as they try to outdo each other in bottle racing, spelling, and baseball.