George Sullivan's "Tom Thumb" chronicles the compelling life of the young circus star that most of us have come to adore during various stages of our childhoods. His well-written prose details the events that made this less-than-thirty-three-inch tall anomaly into the man that circus-goers of America regarded as awe-inspiring. Beginning with his recruitment by circus mogul P.T. Barnum, the biography covers the highs and lows of Thumb's career, paying special attention to his long courtship of dwarf Lavinia Warren.
At the beginning of her 15th summer, Laney believes that she has everything going for her. However, her mother's decision to shake up her entire summer experience by sending her to Camp Timber Trails is enough to put a huge damper on her spirits. After much protest, Laney boards the bus to a camp full of peeing seven-year-olds and teenagers with too-tight shorts. Shortly after arriving at camp, Laney befriends the semi-nerdy Sylvie, and they soon concoct a masterplan to earn Sylvie her first boyfriend. However, along the way, Laney comes across an unexpected romance of her own.
When fifteen-year-old Molly refuses her new boyfriend's sexual advances, she soon finds that he has not been as faithful as she thought. After a huge internal struggle, Molly decides that her time would be better spent with another person: her six year old neighbor. Although breaking up with her boyfriend was in her best interest, Molly is still depressed and looks to the Girl Scout like group "Girl Core" for guidance. However, the group's leader Rhondi seems to think that Molly is solely a bad influence on the girls.
John Rayburn's life in small-town Ohio is boring, to put it in the least. That is, before another version of himself from another universe stops in for a visit. This John, John Prime, is tricky and deceitful, and eventually cons John into taking a spin on his broken universe travel device. John soon finds that the device will not allow him to travel back to his home universe, so he settles in one similar to his own. While there, he enrolls in college, and makes two new friends, Henry and Grace. At one point, John mentions an arcade game, pinball, to the two.
As a new summer begins at her family's whitewater- rafting company, sixteen-year-old Alex can only hope that things will improve. After her father's death and breaking up with her boyfriend, Sean, last year, she feels as if her life is out of control. As the summer progresses, things seem to be looking up for Alex, that is until Sean returns to work as a river guide for her grandfather. Things heat up as Sean and another employee begin to compete for her affections, ultimately ending in tragedy.
After years of sexual abuse and an abortion caused by her father, Liga is tired and always afraid. When she conceives another baby, her father dies, leaving her in peace. However, some of the village boys track her down after the birth of her child, and attempt to rape her. At this point, she runs to the mountains to commit suicide. But, she is interrupted by a celestial being, who makes a deal with her. Liga carries out the terms, and awakens in her own heaven. Things go well for a while, and she has another child, but even the gates of heaven cannot keep out the evils of earth.
