"Ned Wallis knows he's forbidden to touch the rifle in the attic. But he can't resist sneaking it out of the house, just once. Before he realizes it, Ned takes a shot at a dark shadow. When Ned returns home, he's sure he sees a face looking down at him from the attic window. Who has seen and heard him? Ned's feelings of guilt and fear only get worse when one day, while helping an elderly neighbor, he spots a wild cat with one eye missing. Could this be the thing Ned shot at that night?"
"Clay Garrity is 11 years old, and he has never felt so alone in life. Weeks before, his father lost his job and left Clay and his mother, who was pregnant, to fend for themselves. Soon after, they moved into a welfare hotel. They didn't have much, but they did have each other. Now his mother is gone too. And all Clay has to live on is the $28.75 she left under a box of doughnuts. On the 6th day, running out of food and afraid that the welfare people will come and take him away, Clay leaves the apartment and begins to wander the streets of New York City. Clay knows he can't continue to live this way for long. Already his memories of school and the people he cares about are fading. If he leaves the streets he may never see his mother again. But if he stays he may not see tomorrow."
