During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in.

Shy, eleven-year-old Veronica Louse Morgan of New York CIty is not happy about having to attend Randolf School for Girls, but by the end of her first year she not only has some new friends, she may have finally convinced her parents that she is ready to own a dog.

Jules is starting third grade, but her new teacher seems a little strange, she has to choose and research a famous person for the class wax museum project, and rehearsals for the sitcom she is in are harder than ever--especially since the TV show is about to air.

Tandy Angel is, along with her brothers, a suspect in their parents' murder but having grown up under Malcolm and Maud Angel's perfectionist demands, Tandy decides she must clear the family name no matter what.

Eleven-year-old Rain must adjust to a new normal after her brother dies and her family moves to New York City.

As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends, an abusive father, and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him until he finds an ally in Lil Spicer--a fiery young lady. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon's birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage.

"With a new sibling (her fourth) on the way and a big piano recital on the horizon, Dominican-American Ana María Reyes tries to win a scholarship to a New York City private school"-- Provided by publisher.

In trouble at home and school again for turning in a not-quite honest memoir, eleven-year-old Cricket and her equally fanciful grandmother, Dodo, set out on a crosstown Manhattan adventure.

"Alex & Eliza's household continues to expand as they prepare for an arrival of their own, but new developments in their lives bring unforeseen consequences"-- Provided by publisher.

In 1893 New York, thirteen-year-old Maks, a newsboy, teams up with Willa, a homeless girl, to clear his older sister, Emma, from charges that she stole from the brand new Waldorf Hotel, where she works. Includes historical notes.