From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward comes a moving novel about the bond between a five year old abandoned by his mother and the man who raises him. After accidentally killing a police office five years ago, Pearl has managed to protect her bright, frail young son Leonard from her violent past. Then one day, Pearl drops him off with their neighbor Mitch, and never returns. Mitch is far from the ideal caretaker--he's having an affair with a client's wife--but he and Leonard must find a way to bridge the gap between them as they bond as parent and child.Gritty but big-hearted,...

From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward comes a provocative and unlikely love story that starts on a New York subway car and blossoms under the windmills of the Mojave Desert.Both Sebastian and Maria live in worlds ruled by fear. Sebastian, a lonely seventeen-year-old, is suffocating under his dominant father's control; Maria, a young mother of two, is trying to keep peace at home despite her boyfriend's abuse. When their eyes meet across a subway car one night, these two strangers find a connection that neither can explain or ignore. They dream of a new future and agree to run...

"Reminiscent of . . . S. E. Hinton. Very close to perfect."--The Philadelphia Inquirer
Cynnie can take care of herself--and more importantly, she can take care of her little brother, Bill. So it doesn't matter that her mom is drunk all the time. Cynnie's got her own life. Cynnie's the one Bill loves more than anyone. Cynnie's the real mother in the house. And if there's one thing she knows for sure, it's that she'll never, ever sink as low as her mother. But when things start to fall apart, Cynnie needs a way to dull the pain. Never say never.
This unflinching look at the power...

Elle is a loner. She doesn't need people. Which is a good thing, because now she has to move out of her apartment so her mother's boyfriend won't have to deal with her.
Then she meets Frank, the guy who lives next door to her new place. Being with him is impossible: he's a grown-up and has a girlfriend. Still, Elle can't stop thinking about him. Frank isn't like anyone Elle has ever met. He listens to her. He's gentle. And Elle is falling for him, hard.
Then Elle discovers that Frank is different in a way that Elle was never prepared for: he's transgender. Elle's head and her heart...

The internationally bestselling book that inspired the Pay It Forward movement is now available in a middle grade edition.

Pay It Forward is a moving, uplifting novel about Trevor McKinney, a twelve-year-old boy in a small California town who accepts his teacher's challenge to earn extra credit by coming up with a plan to change the world. Trevor's idea is simple: do a good deed for three people, and instead of asking them to return the favor, ask them to "pay it forward" to three others who need help. He envisions a vast movement of kindness and goodwill spreading across the...

An immediate bestseller when first published, Pay It Forward captured hearts all over the world, became a wildly popular film starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt, and spawned a generation of increased altruism. This fifteenth anniversary edition includes a new introduction by the author. It takes an inspiring and moving tale of a young boy who believed in the power of kindness and brings it to a new generation of readers.

Twelve-year-old Trevor McKinney accepts his social studies teacher's challenge: come up with a plan to change the world. His idea is simple: Do a good deed for...