Five teenagers, five stories. All yearning to be told. [ temporary cover; credits for style used for the cover go to @hepburnettes ] #weneeddiversebooks #FreeMentalIllness #youngadultreads

NOW PUBLISHED BY SOURCEBOOKS FIRE! Sixteen-year-old Jackie Howard knows nothing about her new guardian Katherine Walter when she moves from New York to Colorado. After discovering that Katherine has twelve boys, Jackie fears that living in the Walter house isn't going to be easy. It's just icing on the cake that the boys look like models... Cover design by pizzazz-

Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

A group of teenagers find themselves locked up in an underground arena after being kidnapped on a camping trip. To their surprise they are offered an ultimatum: fight or die. [UPDATES EVERY MONDAY EVENING (NZ)] Dope cover made by heartlessvibes <3

Born with a passion for the water and a remarkable talent for swimming, it's no wonder that Rayne Bennett spends more time in the pool than she does on land. But when family secrets become unearthed and lies are uprooted, Rayne realizes that her passion for the water goes farther back than she could have ever imagined. When Rayne finds herself moving back to her quiet birthplace of Shady Cove, things start to unravel even faster. What really happened to her mother, who had (supposedly) been killed thirteen years ago? Why does Rayne feel such an intimate connection with the ocean? The answers, as she will soon find out, come at a cost so great that her life-as well as the lives of those she loves-is in grave danger. Though she doesn't know it, Rayne is the key to unlocking the mysteries that dwell just beneath the ocean's surface. She is the answer to the secrets of the deep. [ adventure #5, fantasy #6 ]