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Clayton Byrd adores his grandfather, loves the jazz Cool Papa plays with the other bluesmen in the park; Clayton wants to be a musician, too. But when Cool Papa Byrd dies suddenly, Clayton is overcome with grief. His mother who has never resolved her own childhood remains at arm’s length though his father attempts to reach the boy. Clayton tries to join the park bluesmen but instead finds a different kind of music with a gang of street kids in the New York subway. Likeable characters populate this fast-paced novel.

Set against the backdrop of the segregation history of the American South, William “Scoob” Lamar, an eleven-year-old Black boy, takes an unplanned trip with his grandmother and discovers that the world hasn’t always been a welcoming place for kids like him, and things aren’t always what they seem—his G’ma included.

Though it’s unusual for a girl in colonial India, 15-year-old Vidya’s father supports her dream of attending college. When her father — an advocate of nonviolence — is severely injured in a protest against British rule, Vidya not only loses her best advocate, but she’s forced to live with her very traditional grandfather. Vidya’s quest for independence mirrors that of her country.