"A Chinese American girl's Auntie Yang discovers soybeans-a favorite Chinese food-growing in Illinois, leading her family to a soybean picnic tradition that grows into an annual community event. Includes author's note and glossary"--Provided by publisher.

"Casey Black -- a seventeen-year-old butch lesbian -- lives a quiet life with her grandfather in a small, central-Illinois town. When not at school or working at the Wise Owl Café, she spends her time at home in her grandfather's subsidized apartment complex, Sky Court. But when seven-year-old Patricia Dale goes missing, Casey joins the search for the girl, despite the objections of her grandfather and her laid-back boss. Fellow Sky Court residents...

A modern-day mage and consultant to the police finds his stale life suddenly enlivened by the presence of a rival in the black arts.

"This is Noah Oakman, sixteen, Bowie believer, concise historian, disillusioned swimmer, son, brother, friend. Then Noah gets hypnotized. Now Noah sees changes--inexplicable scars, odd behaviors, rewritten histories--in all those around him. All except his Strange Fascinations"--

A boy recounts his annual summer trips to rural Illinois with his sister during the Great Depression to visit their larger-than-life grandmother.

Having told off all of her old friends at her eleventh birthday party, Rissa starts middle school determined to make new friends while being herself, not simply being part of a "herd."

Twelve-year-old Lily mourns her brother, and has not spoken since the accident she feels she could have prevented, but the summer Tinny comes to town she is the only one who realizes Lily's secret.

Sixth-grader Amalia learns many important life-lessons while spending Friday afternoons with her beloved grandmother, and the teaching goes on even after Abuelita's sudden death as Amalia finds a way to connect with relatives and a friend who has moved away.

"Walker shouldnt have been so surprised to find Jesus standing in the middle of his bedroom. After all, hed prayed for whoever was up there to help him, and to help his mom, who hadnt stopped crying since Noah died two months ago. But since when have prayers actually been answered? And since when has Jesus been so irreverent?" - Amazon.com

A boy in Illinois remembers the homefront years of World War II, especially his two heroes--his brother in the Air Force and his father, who fought in the previous war.