Although Brad has a satisfying career, a sweet wife and a comfortable life in suburban Sacramento, things aren't quite what he imagined during his college glory days. When he accompanies his musical prodigy son on a university tour, he can't help comparing his life with those of his four best college friends who seemingly have more wealthy and glamorous lives. But when circumstances force him to reconnect with his former friends, Brad begins to question whether he has really failed or if their lives are actually more flawed than they appear.
A year after the murder of her sister Zoë, Echo is determined to uncover the truth. With Zoë's diary as her guide, Echo finds herself pulled into the darkness of her sister's secret life and she uncovers how one small decision can lead to tragic consequences.
High school student Naoki Tomura grew up in a remote area in Hokkaido. He meets piano tuner Soichiro Itadori in school and eventually decides to work at Itadori’s musical instrument store. Tomura gradually grows as a piano tuner through his interactions with the other tuners and musician clients
During the summer of 1999, a group of teenagers, through interconnected narratives, live through their last day of high school and prepare for the future. Holly, once the new girl in school, does whatever it takes to remain popular. Dawn, who is secretly a lesbian, battles drugs. Tori is the valedictorian of her class, but, on the eve of graduation, she decides to experiment with drugs for the first time.
High school student Asako moves all of her belongings to the refuse area of her apartment complex and stops attending school. Kazuyoshi, a precocious young boy, invites her to join him in an online chatroom venture where she assumes the identity of a married temptress named "Miyabi".
A single mother living in inner city Chicago, Brenda has been struggling for years to make ends meet and keep her three kids off the street. When she's laid off with no warning, she starts losing hope for the first time - until a letter arrives announcing the death of a father she's never met. Desperate for any kind of help, Brenda takes her family to Georgia for the funeral, but nothing could have prepared her for the Browns, her father's fun-loving, crass Southern clan. In a small-town world full of long afternoons and country fairs, Brenda struggles to get to know the family she never knew existed... and finds a brand new romance that just might change her life.
The Amamiya Brothers, Masaki and Hiroto, keep looking for their older brother Takeru who disappeared one year ago. The three Amamiya brothers lost their parents when they were young. Since then, they relied only on each other. On the anniversary of their parents' death, Masaki and Hiroto expect Takeru to appear. Instead, they meet a person who has a clue on Takeru's whereabouts.
Asthmatic teenager Barry Gabrewski is a daydreamer. Troubled by bullying, he escapes into a fantasy world where he is the sidekick to his martial arts hero, Chuck Norris, in a series of high-octane adventures taken right out of his movies. With help from his teacher's wise old uncle, Mr. Lee, Barry learns the finer points of martial arts and enters a karate championship.
In the last chapter of the Refrain Blue series, the bond between Yoshihiro Matsunaga and Nao Morisawa grows stronger, while Yoshihiro finally finds out the identify of the mysterious girl from the first chapter.
A group of over-achieving Asian-American high school seniors enjoy a power trip when they dip into extra-curricular criminal activities.
As seniors in high school, Troy and Gabriella struggle with the idea of being separated from one another as college approaches. Along with the rest of the Wildcats, they stage a spring musical to address their experiences, hopes and fears about their future.
With the help of their high school's newest teacher, four Hispanic students form a robotics club. Although they have no experience, the youths set their sights on a national robotics contest. With $800 and parts scavenged from old cars, they build a robot and compete against reigning champion MIT. Along the way, the students learn not only how to build a robot but something far more important: how to forge bonds that will last a lifetime.
Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, Lucille, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of high school students, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei, John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and, later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.
Single mother Chloe has her life turned upside down when her younger sister, Sadie, comes home after a long, unexplained absence. Though Sadie seems to want to settle in with her sister and 17-year-old niece, it soon becomes apparent that she may have sinister intentions.
"There are many things that I don't like. The traffic jam on the way to Naha, my debt-ridden father, my best friend's boyfriend, milk, and my hometown, Shioya-wan. Why did my beautiful mother marry my father?" Ruri tried to escape from these thoughts as she faced an uncertain future. Then, one day, she learns of her mother's past, but…
Maggie Baker has a weight problem, and her high school classmates won't let her forget it. They shamelessly ridicule her, and even go so far as to nominate her for Homecoming Queen as a joke. Maggie, however, decides to take the nomination seriously, collects the required signatures and starts campaigning. A number of students get behind her, threatening the chances of the popular clique -- who resolve to sabotage Maggie's campaign by any means necessary.
Ji-woo, an outcast at a prestigious private school, meets Hak-sung, the school janitor who is actually a mathematical genius who defected from North Korea.
Saori, a school girl, is molested on the notorious "molester train" of the Hanagawa line and rescued by another school girl who witnesses the act. The girl who rescues her turned out to be a new student of the same high school Saori attends. The mysterious new student Yuriko is rumoured to be a "parent killer". Yuriko then leads Saori and her friends to hunt molesters.
Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the SAT. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself.
Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia.