Bullied and shamed her whole life for being fat, twelve-year-old Ellie finally gains the confidence to stand up for herself, with the help of some wonderful new allies.--

Sadie Scofield is entered in the Texas River Odyssey, 260 miles of brutal canoeing, but a chance to finally make up for ruining her father's chance of winning the previous year; but her brother Tanner suddenly opts to paddle for a different team, and she is left with Cully, a young man who was her best friend years ago, but no longer--260 miles in the same boat to sort out her relationship with the boy she once tried to defend from his abusive father,...

Jake Cullen, fourteen, lives in the shadows of his father and older brother until he becomes the starting quarterback for the high school football team and finally has his chance to shine.

Eleven-year-old Sam Abernathy, extremely overprotected and a reluctant celebrity since he was trapped in a well at age four, dreams of becoming a chef and starts by entering a local cook-off.

In the journal she receives for her twelfth birthday in 1835, Lucinda Lawrence describes the hardships her family and other residents of the "Texas colonies" endure when they decide to face the Mexicans in a fight for their freedom.

When an odd turn of events brings a parrot to the ranch, Hank ignores the mimicking bird and struggles to keep up with Sally May and Loper's persistent requests to bark louder and dig up the flowers.

Sixteen-year-old Willowdean wants to prove to everyone in her small Texas town that she is more than just a fat girl, so, while grappling with her feelings for a co-worker who is clearly attracted to her, Will and some other misfits prepare to compete in the beauty pageant her mother runs.

A young fan of lucha libre Mexican wrestling makes a connection to his battling hero, the Angel de la Guarda (the Guardian Angel).

Danny Owens is dedicating his seventh-grade football season to his recently-deceased father, an NFL legend, but the pressure to succeed is magnified by his inability to read.

When Hank the Cowdog hears reports that coyotes are planning to go after the chickens, he manages to resist the temptation to join them and instead thwarts their attack, earning Sally May's forgiveness, and persuading Loper to stop feeding him Cheapo brand dog food.