Laurel Leaf imprint: 201 books

Here are seventeen original short stories that reflect young adults' views on friendships and prejudice, expectations and disappointments, and connections and confrontations.

Ben Delaney has a steadfast belief: Someday he will fly. He’ll sprout wings and really begin his life. But in all of his 17 years, there’s been no sign of any wings. Ben blames Gravity, his sworn enemy, for keeping him down. Yet if there’s one thing Ben isn’t, it’s a ground-dweller. He can...

The year is 2057. Endless wars have torn the USA apart and enslaved Americans to the CCR, the Confederation of Consolidated Republics. Growing up in the wasteland of war has made 14-year-old Cody Pierce wise in survival skills, and now he's the White Fox, rebel leader of the children's barracks in...

No one ever paid attention to the faces of missing children on milk cartons. But as Janie Johnson glanced at the face of the little girl who had been taken twelve years ago, she recognized that little girl--it was herself. The mystery of the kidnapping is unraveled, but the nightmare is not...

When the invitation to the Preffyn family reunion arrives interrupting a perfectly decent summer vacation, 15-year-old Shelley Wollcott is anything but enthusiastic. It’s not that Shelley has anything against her relatives, she just can’t stand it when they give her that “what a pity” look....

Bayport High’s Varsity cheer squad is made up of the hottest of the hot. But this A-list is dangerous in more ways than one. The Squad is actually a cover for the most highly trained group of underage government operatives the United States has ever assembled. They have the perfect cover, because, beyond herkeys and highlights, no one expects anything from a cheerleader.

Eleven interlinked stories tell the tale of a boy coming of age in Kailua-Kona, a Hawaiian fishing village. Sonny Mendoza is a little different from the rest of the men in his family. Salisbury explores characters like Aunty Pearl, a full-blooded Hawaiian as regal as the queens of old; cool Jack,...

Erin Law and her friends are Damaged Children. At least that is the label given to them by Maureen, the woman who runs the orphanage that they live in. Damaged, Beyond Repair because they have no parents to take care of them. But Erin knows that if they care for each other they can put up with the...

Harold Kline is an albino--an outcast. Folks stare and taunt, calling him Ghost Boy. It's been that way all of his 14 years. So when the circus comes to town, Harold runs off to join it. Full of colorful performers, the circus seems like the answer to Harold's loneliness. He's eager to meet...

Thirteen-year-old Sadie lives alone with her mum in their seaside bed and breakfast. Her mum thinks Sadie doesn’t try hard enough at anything she does, and her teachers think she’s lazy. As for Sadie herself—she can’t believe that she’s any good at anything, even though she tries so hard. Suddenly...

Joe Maloney is out of place in this world. His mother wants him to be a man, and he can’t be that yet. His only friend, Stanny Mole, wants to teach him how to kill, and Joe can’t learn that. Joe’s mind is always somewhere else: on the weird creatures he sees in the distant sky, the songs he...

Somewhere Between Life and DeathThe celebration isn't supposed to end in tragedy. But the lives of sisters Amy and Erin come crashing down when Amy takes the car and has a horrible accident.Time to Let GoLanding the lead in the senior musical opposite David Devlin doesn't give Erin much pleasure....

Family sticks with family. That’s the golden rule G’ma taught Kendall. But once G’ma’s gone, Kendall has no family left—except for an aunt G’ma asked for at the end, who Kendall barely remembers. Only Aunt Janet knows what G’ma had in mind, but she never even shows up at the funeral....

For fans of Gillian Flynn, Caroline Cooney, and R.L. Stine comes The Weekend was Murder! from four-time Edgar Allen Poe Young Adult Mystery Award winner Joan Lowery Nixon.           Mary Elizabeth can’t wait for the weekend to begin at the Ridley Hotel, where a famous mystery writer and a troupe...