Born and raised in a prison where is mother is incarcerated, Perry T. Cook is taken to live with a foster family, where he feels trapped and out of place, and works to find a way to be reunited with his mother.

"A searing, tender, haunting story about fathers and sons, sons and mothers, and a young boy's struggle to become a man. Corey Goltz is fifteen years old when his mother, Gloria, is diagnosed with ALS. Estranged from his father, and increasingly responsible for meeting both his mother's needs and his own, Corey is determined to be the hero Gloria needs--at any cost. But when his father Leonard re-enters the picture, Corey's beliefs--about honor and...

A young boy really wants a snake of his own, and after his mother reads a book about snakes and takes him to a museum and a pet store to see some, he finds his own pet "snakes" around the house.

With the help of his friends and his sister Azula, Prince Zuko goes on a quest to find out what happened to his missing mother.