"Thirteen-year-old Eli likes baggy clothes, baseball caps, and one girl in particular. Her seventeen-year-old sister Anna is more traditionally feminine; she loves boys and staying out late. They are sisters . . . Their dad has long been out of the picture, and their mom lives at the mercy of her next drink. When their mom lands herself in enforced rehab, Anna and Eli are left to fend for themselves. Eli and Anna have each gotten used to telling lies...

"Liz Lighty has always done her best to avoid the spotlight in her small, wealthy, and prom-obsessed midwestern high school, after all, her family is black and rather poor, especially since her mother died; instead she has concentrated on her grades and her musical ability in the hopes that it will win her a scholarship to elite Pennington College and their famous orchestra where she plans to study medicine--but when that scholarship falls through...

"While living in Santa Barbara and attending a private school, Maria's life was comfortably boring. Then her sister died, her father lost his job, and the whole family was forced to start over. When they move to the barrio in East L.A. to live with Maria's grandma, Maria recovers her roots and becomes empowered. She can't continue hiding that she is a lesbian when she meets Natalia, a grumpy chola who smells like sugar and turns Maria's life upside...