"In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so he can concentrate...

Charlotte, twelve, and Ben, eleven, are highly-skilled competitors at online Scrabble and that connection helps both as they face family issues and the turmoil of middle school.

In the three years since the Virgil County High School Massacre, a story has grown up around one of the victims, Sarah McHale, that says she died proclaiming her Christian faith--but Leanne Bauer was there, and knows what happened, and she has a choice: stay silent and let people believe in Sarah's martyrdom, or tell the truth.

Twelve-year-old Miriam, poetic, smart, and quirky, is considered a freak by the popular girls at her middle school, and she eventually explodes in response to their bullying, revealing an inner strength she did not know she had.

Nine-year-old Katie's punishment for bullying classmates includes making up for the hurt she has caused, and so she decides to write a book about bullying, why it is not okay, and how to start being a better friend.

Saved from bullies by the class misfit, Nick, Frank is drawn to Nick's house by strange music, discovers he has incredible secrets that bring danger, and decides to help him as he helped her.

In deciding whether to help a bullied classmate, Tori, a quiet sixth grader at Gold Country Middle School, turns to prayer and God's teachings.

After succumbing to peer pressure from a bully, an unusual friendship between Garmann and the Stamp Man arises out of a near-disaster.