Marilyn Boone

Choosing the perfect date should not be left to chance, Elizabeth Wentworth decides before moving back to Hickory Springs for her senior year of high school. Inspired by her grandmother's heart-shaped locket, Elizabeth creates a test of five rules to bring with her. The only boy certain not to pass is Will Henderson, the boy from the old family farm next door. Elizabeth soon realizes her test has a flaw, however, especially after discovering a mystery from the past, hidden inside the locket. Questions loom as Elizabeth begins her search for answers. Could it be the perfect love story cannot be planned anymore than the perfect date? Perhaps some things are better left to chance after all.

Jeannie Fedorchak, the best runner on Perry High School's cross-country team, is determined to make her senior year her fastest one yet. The school begins, and she immediately encounters a handsomely transformed Jason Butler, an increasingly loathsome Brent Phillips, and a curiously sophisticated new world history teacher, who also happens to be her team's new coach.None of the challenges Jeannie faces, however, compares to the world history project that forces her to confront her Aunt Maria, the woman she believes stole her Grandma Sophia away from her. With few memories of the father she lost when she was five, Jeannie needs information only her grandmother can provide. But Grandma Sophia is gravely ill and time is their enemy. Jeannie will never be able to forgive her aunt if it is too late... Unless perhaps, she needs forgiveness herself.

Two worlds collide when E.C. Coleman, the star quarterback for Madison High's football team, shows up at the Samaritan Center, a place where Anna Holmes volunteers serving meals every week. He is everything she expects, arrogant, self-centered, and only there for a grade. Anna resents the distraction, wanting to stay focused on her dream of a violin scholarship to the university while helping her family with their caf . But her younger brother, Aaron, loves football, and Anna would do almost anything to make him happy. Anna has had a difficult time trusting and believing in herself until, Louisa, the mysterious housekeeper at the Samaritan Center, helps her gain the confidence she needs. At the same time, E.C.'s kindness to her brother is softening Anna's opinion of him. What will Anna do when she suddenly feels betrayed and grief threatens to unravel her dream? Can she accept that people are not always what they seem, maybe even, E.C.?