Lisa Schroeder

Nearly-thirteen-year-old Melinda Jia Mackay was adopted from China as a baby, and she has always preferred to stay out of the limelight, reading and writing for her own pleasure--but now she has a summer assignment, so with the help of a new friend, Tyler, and a therapy dog named Odie, she reluctantly hits the streets of New York City in search of her "true passion," one which she can share with others.

Mission Beach is starting to feel more like home to Juliet, especially now that she is an official member of the Starry Beach Club (dedicated to making wishes come true), together with her new friends, Emma and Carmen; their current project is saving the local bookmobile which needs rent money, fast, and Emma's idea is to have a fund-raising crafts fair where she expects Juliet to sell her paintings--an idea that Juliet is not really comfortable with....

"Hazel doesn't like to make waves. Middle school is hard enough without causing more trouble, right? She's happy just eating lunch in the library with her BFF, writing secret haikus, and taking care of an adorable rescue tortoise. But then Hazel discovers a list that rates the girls at her middle school based on their looks -- started by her best friend's older brother. She knows she has to do something, and she can't do it alone. The wave she'll...