Chicago teen Meri Beckley's pride of living in a land of peace, prosperity, and truth crumbles when questions following her mother's death reveal buried facts, especially that words can have great power. When Meri Beckley looks at the peaceful Chicago streets, she feels pride in the era of unprecedented hope and prosperity over which the governor presides. But when her mother is killed, Meri suddenly has questions that no one else seems to be asking....

The author shares the cruelty that was heaped on her by her classmates when she was labeled a freak in high school, describing what it meant to be an outcast among one's peers and her struggle to overcome the torment.

Paul, a talented rock climber despite his very short stature, becomes friends with six-foot-tall Lily and Hawaiian newcomer Big to navigate the high school halls filled with bullies.

While true-crime afficionado Ellery and her twin brother are staying with their grandmother in a Vermont community known for murder, a new friend goes missing and Ellery may be next. Ellery has heard all about Echo Ridge. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen; only five years ago, a homecoming queen was killed. Now Ellery is living there, with a grandmother she barely knows. Whens someone declares open season on homecoming, another girl goes...