Jake, a budding juvenile delinquent, is sent for home schooling to the arty and eccentric Applewhite family's Creative Academy, where he discovers talents and interests he never knew he had.

In the early 1960s, twelve-year-old songwriter Livy Two Weems dreams of seeing the world beyond the Maggie Valley, North Carolina, holler where she lives in poverty with her parents and eight brothers and sisters, but understands that she must put family first.

Living in the family car in their small North Carolina town after their father leaves them virtually penniless, Georgina, desperate to improve their situation and unwilling to accept her overworked mother's calls for patience, persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to get money by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer.

"After guardian dog Gus is injured defending his flock of sheep, he is sent to recuperate and heal with a young boy, Diego, whom Gus finds he can help by learning how to work as an emotional support animal"--Title verso page.

In 1947, twelve-year-old Pattie Mae is sustained by her dreams of escaping Rich Square, North Carolina, and moving to Harlem when her Uncle Buddy is arrested for attempted rape of a white woman and her grandfather is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.

"Chestnut is a dog without a family. After being abandoned in the wild, Chestnut is wandering the North Carolina countryside trying to survive. When twelve-year-old Meg stumbles upon him on the outskirts of her family’s Christmas tree farm, she just knows that they’re meant to be together forever. The only problem? The farm is on the brink of closing down, and her family can’t afford a pet. Meg knows she has what it takes to save the business...