Losing himself in the fantasy world of his favorite video-game character in order to manage the stress of his mother's illness, which he is certain has been misdiagnosed, 12-year-old Nick finds himself fighting alongside another player who eerily reminds him of someone he knows in real life.

In this new adventure in the New York Times bestselling series, the Vanderbeekers depart Harlem to celebrate their dad's birthday. But their surprise road trip turns rocky when the younger kids try to keep their family from ever facing change. Our beloved Harlem family is putting the VAN in Vanderbeekers as they hit the highway to give their dad the best birthday surprise EVER! Re-creating a road trip Papa never got the chance to take with his own...

"In this early chapter book, amateur detectives Lark and Connor Ba figure out which of their follow actors is playing pranks on the local theater company."-- Provided by publisher.

Apple Starkington turned her back on her Native American heritage the moment she was called a racial slur for someone of white and Indian descent, not that she really even knew how to be an Indian in the first place. Too bad the white world doesn't accept her either. And so begins her quirky habits to gain acceptance. Apple's name, chosen by her Indian mother on her deathbed, has a double meaning: treasured apple of my eye, but also the negative connotation...