Sixth-grader Sebastian Wight is cursed with the ability to see the dead, but now a nasty spirit, the shadowman, is determined to claim him for the dead--and this brings him to Gallowgate Academy for Ætheric Arts, where he can learn to control his abilties.

Rumi's family has moved to a new town and he is feeling lonely and left out at school because one of the other kids, Asher, is a bully--until Sebastian joins him, drawing in the dirt under the old willow tree.

Twelve-year-old Jude Winters is dealing with ADHD while trying to figure out how to tell their old-fashioned grandparents about their nonbinary status--but now they have another problem: Stevie, a previously popular girl at school has been ostracized because she has a crush on another girl, and Jude wants to help her cope as well.

"Twelve-year-old Vivian Van Tassel is angry: angry about her mom's mysterious and sudden death; at her dad for uprooting their lives in Chicago to move to the sleepy, creepy town of Midnight Lake; at the bullies who seem to be drawn to her no matter how much she tries to keep her head down...but mostly angry at herself for causing bad things to happen wherever she goes. When a class assignment at her new school prompts Vivian to research the history...

"Felicity's sure she's going to do something big. Exactly what is still a mystery, but she'll figure it out. Her sister, Letty, teases Felicity that she never finishes stuff, but that's just because Letty is so perfect. Still, life is good with plenty of friends--drawing with the art club and playing games with her buddies keep her busy. But when she decides to join a contest to show Letty that she can get things done, Felicity begins to wonder if...