Darby Lee-Stack

Samah attempts tirelessly to escape wearing a burkini for her middle school swim meet, feeling embarrassed by its shape and cultural meaning.

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.

Maureen finds her step-daughter in bed with a friend, which changes their relationship.

In a society where aging is forbidden, a boy shelters an old man.