When he returns to Illinois and the gang culture on the south side of Fairfield after six years in Colorado, high school senior Luis Fuentes, who dreams of becoming an astronaut, falls for a girl and enters a dark world after learning some disturbing news about his family.

A point guard for his school basketball team, Pedro decides to run for class president, but his running mate, Ned, who happens to be the most popular boy in school and Pedro's teammate, does not appreciate the competition.

Living on the University of Colorado-Boulder campus with his older brother Alex, a college student and ex-gang member, high school senior Carlos is not ready to give up his wild ways until he meets a shy classmate named Kiara and becomes unwillingly involved in a drug ring.

Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

"Libby and her great-aunt, Lobo, both learn the Pledge of Allegiance--Libby for school, and Lobo for her U.S. citizenship ceremony"--

In Silver Springs, Arizona, her mother's stories of the monstrous La Llorona are thrilling but unbelievable to science-loving Paola until she and her best friends Dante and Emma take a walk through a cactus field near the Gila River.

Book smart teen Lola's summer plans are derailed when she is sent to live with her grandmother in Mexico City and learns a family secret that changes her life forever.

On the Texas-Mexico border, eighteen-year-old Grace's relationship with her older sister Mercy is fractured when Mercy's two-year-old son dies in an accident, bringing to the surface old family traumas and literal ghosts as the family struggles to heal.

"A boy and his father cross the United States-Mexico border every other Saturday, visiting their favorite places, spending time with family and friends, and sharing in the responsibility of community care"--

Tonatiuh compares and contrasts the daily lives of two cousins, or primos. Charlie is American, and Carlitos is Mexican. Charlie enjoys a slice of pizza after school, while Carlitos helps his mother make quesadillas. Charlie cools off in an open fire hydrant, while Carlitos jumps into a small rio. The writing is simple yet peppered with imagery that enhances it significantly: "Skyscrapers are buildings so tall they tickle the clouds" or "The subway...