Teen Divorce

Five estranged cousins are lost in a maze of their family’s tangled secrets. Their grandparents, former potato farmers Gottfried and Marla Hemmings, managed to trade digging spuds for developing subdivisions, and now they sit atop a million-dollar bank account - wealth they’ve refused to pass on to their adult children or their five teenage grandchildren. "Because we want them to thrive," Marla always says. But for the Hemmings cousins, "thriving" feels a lot like slowly dying of a poison they started taking the moment they were born.

For Sasha, summer means time at her family's sprawling old house out on Long Island. For Ray, it's the same. Sasha and Ray aren't related - and they've never met - but long ago, before they were born, Sasha's dad and Ray's mom were married. Then came a bitter divorce, remarriages, and a new generation of children. Now, the two families have an arrangement: use the summerhouse at your designated time and never cross paths. Sasha and Ray do connect, though, by email - joking around, confiding in one another, forming a friendship.

Marcy's life is a mess. Her parents don't understand her, she feels like a fat blimp with no friends, and her favorite teacher just got fired. Ms. Finney wasn't like the other teachers, and she was helping Marcy feel good about being herself. Now that she's gone, Marcy doesn't know what to do. She's always thought things would be better if she could just lose weight, but the loss of Ms. Finney sparks something inside her.

If God is so big and great, where is He? And why doesn’t He fix this mess? Even though Rae’s parents have their issues, she never imagined they’d call it quits on their marriage. But, they do. And manage to annihilate Rae’s already desolate spring break. Not every freshman in the class of 1977 can boast she made the varsity tennis team. Plus, Rae’s grades are decent, and she’s got the greatest best friend a girl could want. The cherry on top would be if Jack notices her. How could she ever predict that at lightning speed, her life would unravel like a pulled string on her favorite old sweater?

Naila’s conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: She may choose what to study, how to wear her hair, and what to be when she grows up - but they will choose her husband. Following their cultural tradition, they will plan an arranged marriage for her. And until then, dating - even friendship with a boy - is forbidden. When Naila breaks their rule by falling in love with Saif, her parents are livid.

When Cate’s parents derail her perfect NYC life with their monumentally ill-timed divorce, she kind of loses it. By the time she gets it together, she’s in Miami with no friends and none of the classes and activities she imagined for her senior year of high school. So, she decides to blow it all up. Do something that defies everyone’s expectations. A chance encounter with an EMS crew at the scene of an accident leads her to start training as an EMT while riding the city ambulances at night. Admittedly, she doesn’t understand any of this world.

Josh is still flying high from his team's tournament win at Coopers­town when his parents start talking about a divorce. Now his dad is challenging him to play the best of the best at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. But does he just want to get Josh out of the way? Two things are sure: His father's new girlfriend, Diane, is looking to change things, and Josh is determined to get her and her terrible son out of his life.

After nearly a year of crazy, things have finally settled down for Lucy B. Parker. But then Lucy's mom and soon-to-be stepdad announce that they're finally getting married - in a month - and Lucy's life turns upside down. Wedding planning is hard enough, but when a reality TV crew ends up following the family around while it's happening, the results are disastrous. Can Lucy save her mom's wedding - and the family? Or will everything fall apart?

Daddy's girl Rebecca Muir has long known exactly what she wants to do after high school: attend the prestigious architecture program at Columbia University, 3,000 miles away from her home. But as the end of school nears, things are no longer so clear cut - she's just fallen in love with the perfect guy, Jackson; her dad has gotten a new job in New York, so her whole family is following her to the East Coast; and she's having trouble ignoring her premonition that something terrible is coming. And it soon becomes clear why: Shortly after the move, her father reveals that he's leaving them....

Aisha is a 13-year-old refugee. When she finds she’s being sent to a new foster family, she runs away, seeking shelter in the nearby woods. Twelve-year-old Zak is trying to cope with his parents' divorce. He starts researching the history behind his house, which leads him to an old air-raid shelter in the same woods. Both children meet in the heart of the ancient woodland, and unexpected bonds are formed....

Life had always been easy for 15-year-old Camilla Dickinson. But now her parents, whom she had always loved and trusted, are behaving like strangers to each other and vying for her allegiance. Camilla is torn between her love for them and her disapproval of their actions. Then she meets Frank, her best friend's brother, who helps her to feel that she is not alone. Can Camilla learn to accept her parents for what they are and step toward her own independence?

High-school junior Jordan MacKenzie’s life was pretty typical: fractured family, new boyfriends, dead-end job. She’d been living with her father (the predictable optometrist) since her mother (the hippie holdover) had become too embarrassing to be around. Jordan felt that she finally had as normal a life as she could. Then came Gayle D’Angelo. Jordan knew her father was dating Gayle and that Gayle was married.

Sixteen-year-old Sarah can't draw. This is a problem, because as long as she can remember, she has "done the art." She thinks she's having an existential crisis. And she might be right; she does keep running into past and future versions of herself as she wanders the urban ruins of Philadelphia. Or maybe she's finally waking up to the tornado that is her family, the tornado that six years ago sent her once-beloved older brother flying across the country for a reason she can't quite recall.

How can I hold myself together, when everything around me is falling apart? Neena's always been a good girl - great grades, parent-approved friends and absolutely no boyfriends. But ever since her brother Akash left her, she's been slowly falling apart - and uncovering a new version of herself who is altogether more dangerous. As her wild behaviour spirals more and more out of control, Neena's grip on her sanity begins to weaken too.

Twelve-year-old Ben is a shy, quiet kid. His life isn’t perfect, but he feels at home in his New York City apartment. Then his dad takes a job in London, and everything changes. His parents separate, and Ben’s mom moves them back to her hometown of Austin, Texas. Ben’s simple life is suddenly complicated. He misses his apartment, his best friend, Jake, and his dad.

Twin brother and sister Benji and Kelly wander off at the local county fair after witnessing their parents argue. When Benji runs into a group of bullies, he escapes into a tent called The Memory Emporium, where he meets a strange old man named Louis. The old man shows him a magically vivid memory of a fighter pilot in the hopes of getting him to pay to see the other memories he’s collected from people over the years.

It's the summer before eighth grade and Flor is stuck at home and working at her family's mattress store, while her best friend goes off to band camp (probably to make new friends). It becomes even worse when she's asked to compete in the local honey pageant. This means Flor has to spend the summer practicing her talent (recorder) and volunteering (helping a recluse bee-keeper) with Candice, her former friend who's still bitter about losing the pageant crown to Flor when they were in second grade. And she can't say no.

Liberty Johansen is going to change the way we look at the night sky. Most people see the old constellations, the things they've been told to see. But Liberty sees new patterns, pictures, and possibilities. She's an exception. Some other exceptions: Her dad, who gave her the stars. Who moved out months ago and hasn't talked to her since. Her mom, who's happier since he left, even though everyone thinks she should be sad and lonely. And her sister, who won't go outside their house.

Eleven-turning-12-year-old Cassie is an expert Peacock Detective. Her sharp eye for details is why the Hudsons from across the street call her every time their pet peacocks wander away. But there are some things even the greatest Peacock Detective can’t figure out, like why her best friend is so angry lately; why her older sister is cutting her hair off; or why her parents are acting like they don’t know each other anymore. Cassie is an expert at solving things. But what’s a master detective to do when her whole world is changing, and all the answers are out of reach?

Claudia Dalton’s father has disappeared. What began as a late night at work has spiraled into a missing persons case - one that’s left 12-year-old Claudia questioning everything she’s ever known about her father and their family. Told through the pages of Claudia’s scrapbook, The Jigsaw Jungle is a moving story of a family lost and then found, with a dash of mystery and loads of heart, from award-winning author and middle-grade master Kristin Levine.