Joy Lynn Goddard: 3 books

Charlie is a would-be singing star whose mixed-up family keeps standing in her way. She's embarrassed by her younger brother, Nicholas, who's a little "slow," and fed up by her mother who runs off to the casino every chance she gets. Her friend Matt is there to help, and she can count on...

For a smart girl, Emily is planning to do something really stupid . . . She's mad at her mother. So what else is new? As a typical teenager, Emily wants a life, but her mother wants to ruin everything! She even treats the family dog better than she does Emily. Besides, she's not even her real mother...

As a gun is pointed in her direction, Maddie falls on the subway tracks — with the train in the tunnel only minutes away. Her spiky heel is caught. While she desperately tries to pull it free, her friends look down from the platform, frozen in shock. It is then that a tall man in a ball cap jumps down...