"Enough games," the man said, raising the gun yet again. "And enough of the Population Police, I say." This time he cocked the gun and aimed carefully. This is real, Luke thought. This is really going to happen. "No, don't!" he screamed. Luke Garner is a third-born in a restrictive society that allows only two children per family. Risking his life, he came out of hiding to fight against the Population Police laws. Now, in the final volume of Margaret Peterson Haddix's suspenseful Shadow Children series, Luke inadvertently sets off a rebellion that results in the overthrow of the government. The people are finally free. But who is in charge now? And will this new freedom be everything they had hoped? With all of the plot twists and excitement Haddix's fans have come to expect, Among the Free brings the Shadow Children sequence to a chilling conclusion.

Let your imagination soar and take flight with these fourteen original tales of fantasy and science fiction by a distinguished line-up of award-winning children's and young adult authors. Joan Bauer gives us Chloe, a fantasy writer trying to tell a new story--but her characters won't cooperate. Suzanne Fisher Staples introduces us to the powers of djinn in her magical tale set in Pakistan. Charles de Lint offers a romantic tale set during the Summer of Love in his mythical city of Newford. A witch's son seeks revenge in a chilling murder mystery by Michael O. Tunnell. Craig and Jessica, two high school runners, star in this story of transformation by Rich Wallace. Patrice Kindl's mysterious Mrs. Duck moves into the boring town of Refreshing Acres--and nothing is ever the same again. In S.L. Rottman's action-packed tale, the world is on fire, and it's a race to the water's edge. David Lubar thrills us with his story of Deborah, an aspiring magician. Mel Glenn shares a conversation between Ryan and an Angel in the afterlife. Jessie's encounter with a toad changes her life in this uplifting tale by Nancy Springer. A soldier meets the ghost of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, in John Ritter's thought-provoking story. An oracle makes an unsettling prediction in Sharon Dennis Wyeth's tale.Neal Shusterman introduces us to a young thief who holds the fate of the universe in his hands. Tamora Pierce's story takes us to the land of Hartunjar, where women are subservient to men--but not for long…

Simone’s starting her junior year in high school. Her mom’s a lawyer for the ACLU, her dad’s a political cartoonist, so she’s grown up standing outside the organic food coop asking people to sign petitions for worthy causes. She’s got a terrific younger brother and amazing friends. And she’s got a secret crush on a really smart and funny guy–who spends all of his time with another girl.Then her birth mother contacts her. Simone’s always known she was adopted, but she never wanted to know anything about it. She’s happy with her family just as it is, thank you. She learns who her birth mother was–a 16-year-old girl named Rivka. Who is Rivka? Why has she contacted Simone? Why now? The answers lead Simone to deeper feelings of anguish and love than she has ever known, and to question everything she once took for granted about faith, life, the afterlife, and what it means to be a daughter.

Dressing up as an eighteenth century farm girl is not how Betsy Odell imagined spending the summer before her senior year of high school, but her history professor father insists she take a job at Morrisville Historic Village. To make matters worse, Liza Murphy, only the biggest freak from school -- piercings, tattoos, bleached hair -- works as a farm girl too. As far as Betsy can tell, her summer will be miserable and any chance of ever being popular is doomed. When tragedy strikes Betsy close to home, her boyfriend and 'friends' are nowhere to be found, and her job becomes a welcome escape from the real world. James, a Morrisville employee from the next town over, is probably the greatest -- not to mention cutest -- guy Betsy has ever met, and Liza is surprisingly normal and fun. Caught between two worlds -- old and new -- Betsy is soon struggling with two versions of herself. Combining backdrops of historic Morrisville with the normal teenage world of beach parties, learning to drive, and broken hearts, Tara Altebrando writes a hilarious and fun novel of one girl's search for love and happinessŠand the unlikely places she finds them.