A woman on a suicide run kicks her abused son out of the car. The little boy, apparently mute, is an artistic prodigy who excels at chess.

"Mallory Moss knows the rules of middle school. The most important one? You have to fit in to survive. But then Jennifer Chan moves in across the street, and that rule doesn't seem to apply. Jennifer doesn't care about the laws of middle school ... Then Jennifer goes missing. Using clues from Jennifer's journals, Mallory goes searching. But the closer she gets, the more Mallory has to confront why Jennifer might have run ... and face the truth within...

"I'd seen the Senator speak a few times before my life got caught up, however distantly, with his, but the first time I can remember paying real attention was when he delivered the speech announcing his run for the Presidency. When David first hears the Senator from Illinois speak, he feels deep ambivalence. Intrigued by the Senator's idealistic rhetoric, David also wonders how he'll balance the fervent belief and inevitable compromises it will take...

"For as long as she can remember, Patience Adewale has been waiting for confirmation that she is loved, that there is a place where she truly belongs. The eldest daughter of Chief Kolade Adewale, Patience lives a sheltered life in Ibadan, but within the walls of their mansion, her distant father and stepmother Modupe offer no comfort. Her only ally in the house is her younger sister, Margaret, but Margaret can only do so much. More than anything,...

"Joan is a thirtysomething ICU physician at a busy New York City hospital. The daughter of Chinese parents who moved to America to secure the American dream for their children, Joan is intensely devoted to her work, happily solitary, successful. She does look up sometimes and wonder where her true roots lie: at the hospital, where her white coat makes her feel needed, or with her family, who try to shape her life according to their own cultural and...