As the end of sixth grade nears, Jordan Johnson, unhappy that she is only average in appearance, intelligence, and athletic ability, reveals her special skills when disaster strikes her central Illinois elementary school.

"When orphaned Seren Rhys boards a train to Wales, the only magic she hopes to find is that of a family. But when a mysterious package containing a bad-tempered clockwork crow ends up in her care, Seren realizes that nothing about her new life will be as she expected. For all Seren's daydreams of befriending Tomos, her guardians' son, the boy is nowhere to be found. The few servants who now keep the empty manor house of Plas-y-Fran running whisper...

A black family living in Mississippi during the Depression of the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination which its children do not understand.

"Greg Heffley's on a losing streak. His best friend, Rowley Jefferson, has ditched him, and finding new friends in middle school is proving to be a tough task. To change his fortunes, Greg decides to take a leap of faith and turn his decisions over to chance. Will a roll of the dice turn things around, or is Greg's life destined to be just another hard-luck story?"--