From an acclaimed author comes a cheerful, uplifting story of family and belonging, the first in a series perfect for fans of the Vanderbeekers and the Penderwicks.

If you want to get to know eleven-year-old Samantha Ali-O'Connor, you need to know three things:

One, she isn't the only one of her siblings who is adopted, but she is the only one whose name isn't inspired by the ocean.

Two, she and Harbor always compete with each other to be the best Oldest Sibling--and just about everything else.

And three, she is determined to prove she's a real Ali-O'Connor by taking over the family business, repairing and chartering boats.

Except there's a Capital-P Problem: Her mothers have been Serious Whispering about selling the business before summer's end! Sam needs to come up with a plan, quick, before Harbor finds out. And before Sam loses her chance to inherit the business and be an Ali-O'Connor forever.

In this powerful novel by an award-winning author, 12-year-old Winnie Nash is forced to live with her grandma for the summer and finds herself torn between her family's secrets and the joy of celebrating Pride.

But then she agreed to stay with her grandma for the summer so her mom can take care of her health during her latest pregnancy. Now Winnie plays card games with Grandma's friends (boring), joins the senior citizen book club (fine, even if no one thinks she'll read the books), and absolutely does not talk about her mom's sad days (she never used to be so sad...).

The biggest secret is that her parents asked Winnie not to mention she's gay to Grandma. And there's a really cute girl who also hangs out with the senior citizens. What happens if Grandma notices just how much Winnie likes Pippa? The longer Winnie hides the truth, the more she longs to be surrounded by her LGBTQ+ community and the more she feels like the only place she can be herself is at New York City's Pride celebration. Winnie decides she'll get to Pride, one way or another. But is this just one more secret she has to keep?

An ALA Rainbow List Selection
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Selection

From the acclaimed author of Hurricane Season, an unforgettable story about what makes a family, for fans of Hazel's Theory of Evolution and Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World.

Eleven-year-old Joey is angry. All the time. And she doesn't understand why. She has two loving moms, a supportive older half brother, and, as a triplet, she's never without company. Her life is good. But sometimes she loses her temper and lashes out, like the time she threw a soccer ball--hard--at a boy in gym class and bruised his collarbone. Or when jealousy made her push her (former) best friend (and crush), Layla, a little bit too roughly.

After a meltdown at Joey's apartment building leads to her family's eviction, Joey is desperate to figure out why she's so mad. A new unit in science class makes her wonder if the reason is genetics. Does she lose control because of something she inherited from the donor her mothers chose?

The Science of Being Angry is a heartwarming story about what makes a family and what makes us who we are.

If you want to get to know Harbor Moore, you need to know three things:

1. Sometimes she signs her name Harbor Ali-O'Connor to match her siblings.
2. She misses her dad a lot, but she doesn't want to be away from her moms and siblings, either.
3. She just might have her first crush.

Harbor is excited to spend the summer working on her jump shot in an elite basketball league. But the games take place near her dad's house--hours away from her beloved Sunrise Lagoon. Suddenly, she's spending every weekend at her dad's and getting to know Quinn, a girl whose smile makes her feel warm inside. Still, Harbor can't help wondering what's going on at home. Why is Sam hanging out with Harbor's best friend? Has Marina's friend Boom taken her place in the house? What have the twins borrowed this time for one of their disastrous scientific experiments?

When it comes time to decide whether Harbor will stay and play basketball with her team--and Quinn--all year round, or continue to live on Sunrise Lagoon, Harbor thinks she knows what to do . . . but is it the right decision?

From an acclaimed author comes a cheerful, uplifting story of family and belonging, the first in a series perfect for fans of the Vanderbeekers and the Penderwicks.

If you want to get to know eleven-year-old Samantha Ali-O'Connor, you need to know three things:

One, she isn't the only one of her siblings who is adopted, but she is the only one whose name isn't inspired by the ocean.

Two, she and Harbor always compete with each other to be the best Oldest Sibling--and just about everything else.

And three, she is determined to prove she's a real Ali-O'Connor by taking over the family business, repairing and chartering boats.

Except there's a Capital-P Problem: Her mothers have been Serious Whispering about selling the business before summer's end! Sam needs to come up with a plan, quick, before Harbor finds out. And before Sam loses her chance to inherit the business and be an Ali-O'Connor forever.

A Publishers Weekly Best Middle Grade Book of 2021
One of The Nerd Daily's Anticipated Queer Book Releases You Can't Miss in 2021
One of Lambda Literary's May's Most Anticipated LGBTQ Literature

Gorgeous. --BuzzFeed

The two most important things to know about Pluto Timoney: (1) she's always loved outer space (obviously); and (2) her favorite season is summer, the time to go to the boardwalk, visit the planetarium, and work in her mom's pizzeria.

This summer, when Pluto's turning thirteen, is different. Pluto has just been diagnosed with depression, and she feels like a black hole is sitting on her chest, making it hard to do anything. When Pluto's dad threatens to make her move to the city--where he believes his money could help her get better--Pluto comes up with a plan to do whatever it takes to be her old self again. If she does everything that old, normal Pluto would do, she can stay with her mom. But it takes a new therapist, new tutor, and new (cute) friend with a plan of her own for Pluto to see that there is no old or new her. There's just Pluto, discovering more about herself every day.

A Publishers Weekly Best Middle Grade Book of 2021
One of The Nerd Daily's Anticipated Queer Book Releases You Can't Miss in 2021
One of Lambda Literary's May's Most Anticipated LGBTQ Literature

Gorgeous. --BuzzFeed

The two most important things to know about Pluto Timoney: (1) she's always loved outer space (obviously); and (2) her favorite season is summer, the time to go to the boardwalk, visit the planetarium, and work in her mom's pizzeria.

This summer, when Pluto's turning thirteen, is different. Pluto has just been diagnosed with depression, and she feels like a black hole is sitting on her chest, making it hard to do anything. When Pluto's dad threatens to make her move to the city--where he believes his money could help her get better--Pluto comes up with a plan to do whatever it takes to be her old self again. If she does everything that old, normal Pluto would do, she can stay with her mom. But it takes a new therapist, new tutor, and new (cute) friend with a plan of her own for Pluto to see that there is no old or new her. There's just Pluto, discovering more about herself every day.

If you want to get to know Harbor Moore, you need to know three things:

1. Sometimes she signs her name Harbor Ali-O'Connor to match her siblings.
2. She misses her dad a lot, but she doesn't want to be away from her moms and siblings, either.
3. She just might have her first crush.

Harbor is excited to spend the summer working on her jump shot in an elite basketball league. But the games take place near her dad's house--hours away from her beloved Sunrise Lagoon. Suddenly, she's spending every weekend at her dad's and getting to know Quinn, a girl whose smile makes her feel warm inside. Still, Harbor can't help wondering what's going on at home. Why is Sam hanging out with Harbor's best friend? Has Marina's friend Boom taken her place in the house? What have the twins borrowed this time for one of their disastrous scientific experiments?

When it comes time to decide whether Harbor will stay and play basketball with her team--and Quinn--all year round, or continue to live on Sunrise Lagoon, Harbor thinks she knows what to do . . . but is it the right decision?

If you want to get to know Marina Ali-O'Connor, you need to know three things:

One, despite her name, Marina is secretly afraid of the water.

Two, she wanted to be one of the Oldest Siblings, but is stuck smack dab in the middle.

Three, she's pretty certain she's the Extra Ali-O'Connor kid--the forgotten one.

When Boom, a budding filmmaker exactly Marina's age, moves in across the lagoon, she decides that Marina's quest to become someone's favorite Ali-O'Connor would make a perfect documentary. But when each plan goes a little bit wrong, Marina begins to wonder if she'll ever feel like she belongs, or if she'll always be lost in the middle.

If you want to get to know Marina Ali-O'Connor, you need to know three things:

One, despite her name, Marina is secretly afraid of the water.

Two, she wanted to be one of the Oldest Siblings, but is stuck smack dab in the middle.

Three, she's pretty certain she's the Extra Ali-O'Connor kid--the forgotten one.

When Boom, a budding filmmaker exactly Marina's age, moves in across the lagoon, she decides that Marina's quest to become someone's favorite Ali-O'Connor would make a perfect documentary. But when each plan goes a little bit wrong, Marina begins to wonder if she'll ever feel like she belongs, or if she'll always be lost in the middle.

Fig, a sixth grader, loves her dad and the home they share in a beachside town. She does not love the long months of hurricane season. Her father, a once-renowned piano player, sometimes goes looking for the music in the middle of a storm. Hurricane months bring unpredictable good and bad days. More than anything, Fig wants to see the world through her father's eyes, so she takes an art class to experience life as an artist does. Then Fig's dad shows up at school, confused and looking for her. Not only does the class not bring Fig closer to understanding him, it brings social services to their door.

As the walls start to fall around her, Fig is sure it's up to her alone to solve her father's problems and protect her family's privacy. But with the help of her best friend, a cute girl at the library, and a surprisingly kind new neighbor, Fig learns she isn't as alone as she once thought . . . and begins to compose her own definition of family.

Nicole Melleby's Hurricane Season is a radiant and tender novel about taking risks and facing danger, about friendship and art, and about growing up and coming out. And more than anything else, it is a story about love--both its limits and its incredible healing power.

An instructive, affirming pick for rainbow readers and allies.―Booklist

Twelve-year-old Abigail (she/her/hers) is so excited to spend her summer at Camp QUILTBAG, an inclusive retreat for queer and trans kids. She can't wait to find a community where she can be herself--and, she hopes, admit her crush on that one hot older actress to kids who will understand.

Thirteen-year-old Kai (e/em/eir) is not as excited. E just wants to hang out with eir best friend and eir parkour team. And e definitely does not want to think about the incident that left eir arm in a sling--the incident that also made Kai's parents determined to send em somewhere e can feel like emself.

After a bit of a rocky start at camp, Abigail and Kai make a pact: If Kai helps Abigail make new friends, Abigail will help Kai's cabin with the all-camp competition. But as they navigate a summer full of crushes, queer identity exploration, and more, they learn what's really important. Camp QUILTBAG is a heartfelt story full of the joy that comes from being and loving yourself.

From the acclaimed author of Hurricane Season, an unforgettable story about what makes a family, for fans of Hazel's Theory of Evolution and Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World.

Eleven-year-old Joey is angry. All the time. And she doesn't understand why. She has two loving moms, a supportive older half brother, and, as a triplet, she's never without company. Her life is good. But sometimes she loses her temper and lashes out, like the time she threw a soccer ball--hard--at a boy in gym class and bruised his collarbone. Or when jealousy made her push her (former) best friend (and crush), Layla, a little bit too roughly.

After a meltdown at Joey's apartment building leads to her family's eviction, Joey is desperate to figure out why she's so mad. A new unit in science class makes her wonder if the reason is genetics. Does she lose control because of something she inherited from the donor her mothers chose?

The Science of Being Angry is a heartwarming story about what makes a family and what makes us who we are.

A moving story of friendship, family, and the importance of empathy from award-winning author Nicole Melleby, expertly rendered with vibrant, expressive illustrations from Alexandra Colombo.

Sunny does not like cats--especially Oswaldo. He's cranky and mean.

Sunny's dad loves Oswaldo. She does not understand why.

When Oswaldo doesn't come home one day, Sunny is happy. But her dad is sad.

Sunny wants her dad to be happy, so she helps him look for Oswaldo.

But can Sunny and Oswaldo ever get along?

A thoughtful portrayal of mental illness with queer content that avoids coming-out clich s. --Kirkus Reviews

For Fig's dad, hurricane season brings the music.
For Fig, hurricane season brings the possibility of disaster.

Fig, a sixth grader, loves her dad and the home they share in a beachside town. She does not love the long months of hurricane season. Her father, a once-renowned piano player, sometimes goes looking for the music in the middle of a storm. Hurricane months bring unpredictable good and bad days. More than anything, Fig wants to see the world through her father's eyes, so she takes an art class to experience life as an artist does. Then Fig's dad shows up at school, confused and looking for her. Not only does the class not bring Fig closer to understanding him, it brings social services to their door.

As the walls start to fall around her, Fig is sure it's up to her alone to solve her father's problems and protect her family's privacy. But with the help of her best friend, a cute girl at the library, and a surprisingly kind new neighbor, Fig learns she isn't as alone as she once thought . . . and begins to compose her own definition of family.

Nicole Melleby's Hurricane Season is a radiant and tender novel about taking risks and facing danger, about friendship and art, and about growing up and coming out. And more than anything else, it is a story about love--both its limits and its incredible healing power.

Introducing Brie Hutchens: soap opera superfan, aspiring actor, and so-so student.

Brie has big plans for eight grade. But when her mom walks in on her accidentally looking at some possibly inappropriate photos of her favorite actress, Brie sees her dream of attending the performing arts high school falling apart. So she blurts out that she's been chosen to crown the Mary statue during her Catholic school's ceremony in May. It's a giant honor . . . but Brie is totally lying.

The lie works, and Brie's mom is distracted with pride. Unfortunately, Brie has almost no chance to get the job, which always goes to a top student. Someone like Kennedy, the girl everyone expects to crown Mary. Brie turns to Kennedy for help, but sometimes just looking at her gives Brie butterflies. Juggling confusing feelings with the rapidly approaching May Crowning, Brie tries to figure out how to finally make her mother really see her as she is, before her lies catch up with her.