In 1955, Woodrow and his cousin Gypsy befriend a new girl in their seventh grade class in rural Virginia, and the three of them set off to find Woodrow's missing mother, encountering unlikely and intriguing coincidences along the way.

Seven years after being abandoned with her little brother at a Tennessee campground, fifteen-year-old Tessa Lee learns that her mother has been living two hours away.

Abandoned by his mother, thirteen-year-old Heck tries to survive on his own as his mind bounces between the superhero character he imagines himself to be and the harsh reality of his life.

Ella Varner, having been left by her sister to care for her child, tracks down the baby's father, millionaire playboy Jack Travis, and decides to confront the man and demand he takes responsibility, but when she shows up at his house and finally meets him, her anger turns to attraction and she finds it hard to leave.

After their guardian dies, fifteen-year-old Lutie McFee and her nine-year-old brother decide to flee their hometown to avoid becoming wards of the state and head for Las Vegas in hopes of finding their estranged father.

Thirteen-year-old Twig, having always looked and felt different from his woodtroll family, learns that he is adopted and travels out of his Deepwoods home to find the place where he belongs.

Fifteen-year-old RD is repeating the eighth grade, planning to have an easy year, but after his grandmother walks out her boyfriend is no longer able to care for him, which leaves RD to fend for himself while avoiding being caught.