When twelve-year-old Izzy discovers a beat-up baseball marked with the words "Because magic" while unpacking in yet another new apartment, she is determined to figure out what it means. What secrets does this old ball have to tell? Her mom certainly isn't sharing anyespecially when it comes to Izzy's father, who died before Izzy was born. But when she spends the summer in her Nana's remote New Mexico village, Izzy discovers long-buried secrets that...

"When a few Mexica gods try to put their Maya counterparts out of commission, it's up to Zane and some godborns-in-training to save the universe"--

Ava Granados arrives too late to for her grandmother's deathbed blessing, then Nana appears as a ghost asking for help so Ava, with the help of her two older sisters and bumbling spiritual guide, Medardus, must befriend the mysterious boy who received the blessing the night of the storm

In this collection of personal stories and essays, award-winning and best-selling authors show that hope can live anywhere, even during the darkest of times