STUDENT FICTION / ON YOUTH AND GROWING PAINS

An afternoon in the pool makes 16-year-old Laure circle the edges of what is or is not considered abusive.

When eight-year-old Miša finds an abandoned kitten in the street, he tries to provoke the affection his parents are not providing.

Vio shouldn't have come to the pool today. She really dislikes her classmates. One classmate in particular: Sara — the most popular girl in the group.

Left in her aunt’s care on a family ranch at the edge of the burning Brazilian wetland, 12-year-old Mia is desperate for the touch of her mother’s love.

In a facility where the worth of each child must be measured and evaluated, a young girl is made to question her blind obedience.

When their father falls ill, a young boy who can’t swim must go out to sea with his brother to catch fish, while struggling with the societal pressures placed on him as a young man.