Relegated to the status of schoolteacher and friendly neighbor after abandoning her dreams of becoming an artist, Nora advocates on behalf of a charismatic Lebanese student and is drawn into the child's family until his artist mother's careless ambition leads to a shattering betrayal.

"Yamacraw Island was haunting, nearly deserted, and beautiful. Separated from the mainland of South Carolina by a wide tidal river, it was accessible only by boat. But for the handful of families that lived on Yamacraw, America was a world away. For years these families lived proudly from the sea until waste from industry destroyed the oyster beds essential to their very existence. Already poor, they knew they would have to face an uncertain future...

Sarah is afraid to start at a new school, but both she and the reader are in for a surprise when she gets to her class.

Lilly loves everything about school, especially her teacher, but when he asks her to wait a while before showing her new purse, she does something for which she is very sorry later.

"There's nothing Huckleberry Hill, Wisconsin's irrepressible eighty-somethings Anna and Felty Helmuth like better than a challenge. And the chance to matchmake their feisty granddaughter is their most delightful task yet... Elsie Helmuth's plain-spoken ways got her in trouble once before, so she needs to make a good impression at her new teaching job in Huckleberry Hill. But she's not about to let disabled student Wally Sensenig work below his potential....

"After noticing that A.J. and his friends' geography knowledge could use some work, Mr. Cooper invites to class just the person to help. Globetrotter Mrs. Barr speaks seven languages and has visited nearly two hundred countries! But why does she carry a suitcase everywhere she goes? And why does she open a window whenever she walks into a room? Perhaps Mrs. Barr has something to hide"--Provided by publisher.

"Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she's just a nuisance. She expects school to be different, but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a kid-hating terror of a headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull, she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back. It will take superhuman genius to give Miss Trunchbull what she deserves, and Matilda may be just the one to do it!