Chelsey, by Chelsey Shannon, is part of a series called Louder than Words, a collection of autobiographies by teenage girls. In her story, Chelsey tells about her life experiences of coping with the death of loved ones, grief, and finding her true self. Her life starts out more complicated than most, as at a young age she loses her mother to cancer. However, through that tragic experience she is able to build a special relationship with her father, even though he is often traveling with work. Chelsey thinks that nothing can ever separate them.
Say You're One of Them is a collection of short stories by Uwem Akpan. In the first story, An Ex-mas Feast, a poverty-striken family living on the streets of Nairobi, Kenya struggle to overcome hunger. In Fattening for Gabon, two siblings living in Benin with their uncle are suddenly blessed with a small fortune by their godparents. But things take a turn for the worse when they realize that they are thick in the middle of a plot to be sold into slavery. What Language is That?
Henry Howard was born in 1517 to a noble, wealthy family. He had a very privileged, yet difficult childhood. At a young age he inherited the title of the Earl of Surrey and soon became accustomed to the life of someone of his stature. When he joined the King's court, he developed a good reputation with his peers and was dubbed Knight of the Order of the Garter. However, Surrey was a very reckless, overconfident individual and through one mistake after another, slowly lost his favor with the King. After much plotting of his enemies, Surrey became Henry VIII's very last victim.
14-year-old Flora is the last daughter of the Pazzi, though she is hardly treated like one. While her older brothers and sister live a life of luxury, she waits on them like a servant. Determined to from having to live at a convent, Flora devises a plan to win her parents' approval. But soon she must throw everything away in an attempt to save her family's and her dear friend Emilio's lives. As everything she loves is stripped away from her, Flora must go into hiding to save herself.
Packer and Panna Throme are interrupted in the middle of their "honey month" by the king's urgent order that Packer must set sail on the Trophy Chase. Three lone ships that are left of the navy fleet go out to sea in an attempt to delay the attack on Nearing Vast from the kingdom of Drammun. Meanwhile, Panna is left behind in the hands of the lustful Prince Mather, who plots to steal her love. As Packer helps to fight the ferocious Drammun Armada, his faith is tested to the limit.
