Contains ten short fiction stories for young adults that look at different types of families, both traditional and non-traditional, including selections by Nikki Grimes, Lois Lowry, Walter Dean Myers, and others.

Hardware / Joan Bauer -- Siskiyou Sloan and the eye of the giraffe / Norma Howe -- Necessary noise / Emma Donoghue -- The throwaway: a suite / Nikki Grimes -- Visit / Walter Dean Myers -- A family illness: a mom-son conversation / Joyce Carol Thomas -- A woman's touch / Rita Williams-Garcia -- Sailing away / Michael Cart -- Dr. Jeckyll and Sister Hyde / Sonya Sones -- Snowbound / Lois Lowry.