"Those who want slavery should have the grace to name it by its proper name." -Ayn Rand In a dark, terrifying, and backwards future, people have no names and are taught never to think of themselves. Everything is subordinate to the all-powerful World Council. Individualism is illegal; as is love not authorized by the World Council. Just using the word "I" is a transgression punishable by death. Fear of innovation and change has stifled humanity...

Willa, who wants to feel extraordinary, thinks that she's in love with the father of the boy next door until she realizes that her "ordinary" true love is the boy himself.

"Grady the goose is left behind when her family leaves to fly to a warmer climate, but a helpful farmer finds her and reunites her with her parents and siblings" --

Arthur, a dog in a pet store waiting to be adopted, takes on the identities of other animals he thinks might be more appealing, until discovering that he can be a success as himself.

Twelve-year-old Maggie (Magnolia) and her twin sister Beatrice are both figure skaters, but Maggie is trying to find her own style (for instance, cutting her hair and dying it blue) while her sister remains firmly under their uptight mother's thumb--so when their old coach leaves and a man takes over, Maggie seizes the opportunity to try out some of the new spins she has been creating, even if it means upstaging her twin.

On her first day of first grade, despite the objections of her older sisters, Suki chooses to wear her beloved Japanese kimono to school because it holds special memories of her grandmother's visit last summer.