Melinda "Min" Wilder hates her birthdays, for an unusual reason. Every other year, on her even birthdays only, the same man in a black suit brutally murders her. However, every time, she wakes up hours later in the same clearing, completely unharmed, with no evidence to prove the crime was ever committed. She is 16 now, and has been killed 5 times. When she was 8, she was pushed into a ravine. When she was 10, she drowned after being pushed into rapids. When she was 12, she was run over by a car. When she was 14, her head was bashed in with a rock. And on the morning of her 16th birthda ..read more

[TRIGGER WARNING: Eating disorders, self-harm] Cassie and Lia had sworn a pact, sealed by blood. They swore to compete over who could be thinner. Cassie was bulimic, Lia was anorexic.  They were wintergirls, not dead, not alive. They got thinner and thinner, until one day, Cassie died. Alone, in a motel room. She and Lia had fought months before, and had sworn never to speak with each other again. But the day before she died, Cassie had called Lia. 33 times. Lia didn't pick up once. Lia is living an imitation of life. She counts her calories, but only if she eats. She eats one meal ..read more

Zack Gurevitz is a former Green Beret turned junkie living in Chicago, during a time of fear and unrest in America. As a young Jewish man on the streets, life is doubly dangerous for him. The government has ordered the round-up of all American Jews, so they can be moved into ghettos, supposedly for their own protection. Power in the US government has been seized by an organization called 88wh1te. They are a white supremacist organization that aims to make America (cough) great again, by which they mean ensuring that only white, non-Jewish people can live freely in America. And so, dark hist ..read more

Clara Dooley has been shut away for her entire life of 12 years, because she has a weak heart. She lives in the old Glendoveer house with her mother, a maid/caretaker/family friend named Ruby, and old Mrs. Glendoveer. Clara likes being in the house, but she does get lonely and upset. She is not allowed to have any friends over, our of concerns for her health, and she is homeschooled. She can see the schoolchildren on their walk to school as they pass by from a window, and it just makes her feel worse.  On top of that, there's the aviary. The aviary is a massive birdcage, big enough ..read more

Cynthia "Cyn" Rothschild spends her days doing homework, spending time with her friends, Leticia and Diane, and her BFF, Annie, and obsessing about her crush, Ryan Halsey, to a point where it's almost scary. She daydreams in most classes, and/or passes notes to Annie, typically about Ryan. Annie teases her mercilessly about her crush, so Cyn looks forward to the day where she can return the favor. Cyn gets her shot when, one day, Annie comes running up to her with a wild look in her eyes and gasps out the words, "New. Librarian." Cyn has an uneasy feeling as Annie practically drags her ..read more

Francisco Towers is a nobody in his New Mexican high school, compared with his older brother, Steve, a popular senior who is the soccer team's star player, and who has recently accepted a soccer scholarship for a college.   While Steve is winning his soccer games, hanging out with his girlfriend, and getting drunk with the local cholos and cholas, the tough punk-like guys and girls who are decorated with tattoos and black leather clothes, Frankie is blowing up rocks and anthills with his friend Zach, obsessing over Rebecca Sanchez, his crush, and working at&nb ..read more

Hayaat is a Palestinian living in Bethlehem's West Bank in 2004. She and her family are separated from the land they grew up in, Jerusalem, by a massive wall. Hayaat had spent a portion of her childhood there (through the age of 9), her mother had grown up there, and her grandmother before her. But the Israeli army forced them out, along with the other Palestinians there. Now Hayaat is thirteen, living in a dingy apartment, with her mother, father, sister, two brothers, and her grandmother. The Palestinians, who are Arabs and mostly Muslims, are restricted by travel laws, curfews, and ..read more

Edita Adler, or "Dita" as she's known, is fourteen years old and living in the Auschwitz concentration camp. She doesn't work in the warehouses, the crematoriums, the kitchen, or the factories. She works in Block 31, the "family camp." This camp is where families can live together, and children can run around and play. It is also the site of a secret school. She works as the secret librarian for Block 31's secret school, housing and delivering the few books that the camp has to teachers within the camp. Books and education in Auschwitz are forbidden, and those who are caught teaching, or tho ..read more

The Society has created a seemingly Utopian life for its citizens. People are "matched" with a partner at age 17. Their Match is chosen based on common interests, intelligence, and if the genes of each person pair nicely to create healthy offspring. The matched pair marry at 21, have children around the age of 24, and die at 80. Teens learn important skills needed for a job assigned to them when they get older by practicing after school. Some get their work position while they are still 17. The Society is divided into the Provinces and the Outer Provinces. Cassia Reyes lives in Oria Provin ..read more