"A thief wreaks havoc by switching things out for rhyming counterparts, until he's stumped by an unrhymable word"--

With insight and a light touch, best-selling, Newbery Honor-winning author Gary D. Schmidt tells two poignant, linked stories: that of a grieving girl and a boy trying to escape his violent past. Following the death of her closest friend in summer 1968, Meryl Lee Kowalski goes off to St. Elene's Preparatory Academy for Girls, where she struggles to navigate the venerable boarding school's traditions and a social structure heavily weighted toward students...

Twelve-year-old Fin, a master thief from the pirate world of Khaznot Quay, and Marrill, also twelve, of Arizona, cross paths in the magical world of the Pirate Stream while on a quest for a mysterious map.

Sixth-grader Alton Ziegler loves maps, and when his portfolio of secret maps is stolen, he begins getting notes with orders that he must obey to get the maps back but, with the help of a popular classmate, he just might succeed before his teacher, principal, or someone else learns he has been studying and mapping things about them.

On a mean street in a mean, broken city, a young girl tries to snatch an old woman's bag. But the frail old woman, holding on with the strength of heroes, says the thief can't have it without giving something in return: the promise. It is the beginning of a journey that will change the thieving girl's life--and a chance to change the world, for good.

"Nothing exciting ever happens in the small town of Newpark, where Brian, Hannah and twins Chris and Sam live. And when they start their summer vacation, they know it's the end of an era. The Misfits Club--a club they started when they were eight years old--is disbanding, and they still haven't managed to solve any real mysteries. But when they persuade new club member Amelia to go investigate a spooky old house, they unxpectedly discover some stolen...