Julie Cavallo, the main character in The Sinister Superyacht by Ana T Drew, runs a successful gluten-free patisserie with her younger sister Flo and friend Eric. Together with Julie’s grandmother, Rose, the three of them form an amateur detective team - FERJ (standing for Flo, Eric, Rose, Julie). When Julie and Rose sign up to be the baker and baker’s assistant on the crew of the l’Occitane, a superyacht owned by Jean-Louis and Valerie Ponsard, they are expecting an uneventful week of creating tasty treats for their rich clients.
Twelve year old Ruby Callahan, the main character in The Solomon Stone, by Christine Sandgren has been stranded on a Hawaiin island since her parents left her there after a party nine years ago. She is the only non-native person on the island but is also the best animal tracker because she can see “lines” that show her where things have been, and where they are going. For example, she can easily know when a cape buffalo will come to a certain spot on the island. Everything changes though, when her uncle and grandmother find her, and take her back to New York City.
Dragon Stewart, the main character in My Storied Year, by Katie Proctor, got his unique name because of his mom’s obsession with Harry Potter. As the book begins, Dragon, a 7th grader at Piney Woods Middle School, has too many problems to count. His mom is trying to take care of Dragon, his younger step-sister and his toddler cousin all on her own. This is difficult for her to do because she has diabetes and smokes and can hardly get out of bed some days. In school, Dragon struggles with dyslexia and gets teased by the school bully, Travis, about how he smells.
Tyrone, the smallest chameleon in the bayou, has been having problems since the moment he was born. He needs extra food, is too weak to play baseball with the other chameleons, and can't make any friends. His favorite place to be is alone on Sun Rock, where none of the other animals ever went. Thus begins Tyrone the Terrible, an animal fable by Jan Lis. Then one day when Tyrone is talking to himself, a squirrel named Junior overhears his troubles. He tells Tyrone that the solution to his problems would be working out in order to get bigger and stronger.
Theresa Martinez, the main character in Ghosters by Diana Corbitt, moves into her grandparents' old abandoned mansion after her mom dies, not expecting much. However, soon after, she, her father, and her younger brother, Joey, move in, Theresa starts noticing unusual things happening. Theresa thinks that ghosts are responsible, but her dad definitely does not believe in ghosts. Then, Theresa meets a girl at school, Kerry, whose aunt was the realtor for the mansion. Kerry also thinks the house is haunted and asks Theresa if she could come over to check the place out.
Ellie, the main character in The Third Mushroom by Jennifer Holm, was in middle school when the “Mushroom War” started. Her parents tried to get Ellie to eat mushrooms by hiding them in various dishes, but after trying them twice, Ellie refused to eat a third mushroom.
